Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sharply criticised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen just hours before a high-stakes no-confidence vote at noon on Thursday, July 10th, in the European Parliament.
In a post on X on Wednesday afternoon, the conservative, sovereignist PM—known for opposing EU dictates—wrote that Thursday’s vote was scheduled “due to the corruption scandals piling up around the President,” but “this is about more than that. It is about competence, results, and the future of Europe.”
Orbán listed numerous issues in which the Commission has failed its citizens: European competitiveness is in ruins, European energy prices are through the roof, illegal migration is out of control, gender and green ideologies are being imposed upon member states, and the EU’s military assistance has only prolonged the Russo-Ukrainian war, turning Ukraine into a “meat grinder.”
The prime minister goes on to write:
Tomorrow, the moment of truth arrives: on one side, the Brusselian imperial elite, on the other, the patriots and common sense. No dodging, a choice must be made. Madam President, leadership is about responsibility. It is time to go!
Orbán’s post encapsulates the mounting frustration among nationalist and right-wing forces in Europe who accuse von der Leyen of mismanaging multiple crises, from the pandemic response to the EU’s handling of migration.
The no-confidence motion, brought forward by Romanian nationalist MEP Gheorghe Piperea and backed by conservative and nationalist forces, is an attempt to bring her tenure to an early—though not necessarily premature—end.
As we previously reported, the main focus of the motion is about holding von der Leyen to account for, among other things, the ‘Pfizergate’ scandal, the unlawful interference in national elections via biased social media censorship, and for bypassing the European Parliament on the issue of fast-tracking a €150 billion joint loan-backed rearmament scheme.
In Monday’s EP debate, von der Leyen avoided talking about her failures and instead attacked “extremists,” for trying to “polarize society and erode trust in democracy.”
While the motion of no confidence is unlikely to succeed, it has rattled Brussels and exposed deep divisions within the mainstream leftist, liberal, and centre-right parties in the Parliament, with left-wing MEPs attacking the centre-right EPP group for allying with the “far-right”—a false claim given that the EPP still votes more than 90% of the time with the Left.
Nevertheless, in a last-minute effort to secure the backing of the Left (the EPP has vowed to stand behind her), von der Leyen offered a significant concession on Tuesday, according to Politico.
At a meeting with party chairs in Strasbourg, the Commission president allegedly proposed preserving direct funding to regional authorities in the EU’s next long-term budget. The move was designed to appease Socialists and Liberals, who are worried about von der Leyen’s plan to dramatically increase the power of national governments in handling regional funds.
Whether Thursday’s vote falters or not, Ursula von der Leyen and her Commission’s failures, their vision of a centralised Europe, their attacks on sovereign nation states, as well as the blatant corruption, have come to the forefront of European politics for all to see.
