European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been mocked by GB News host Tom Harwood after being re-elected for a second time.
Addressing MEPs following her victory, Von der Leyen addressed the Parliament and claimed the “next five years will define Europe’s place in the world for the next five decades”.
She added: “It will decide whether we shape our own future or let it be shaped by events or by others.”
Criticising the election process of the European Parliament, Tom Harwood highlighted how Von der Leyen was the “only candidate on the ballot paper”.
Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected for a second five-year term, following a secret ballot vote by MEPs
PA / GB News
Tom explained: “They sit there in their hemispherical parliament and are given a little ballot paper, but unlike the ballot papers that you and I are used to, with multiple candidates to choose between, they have just one.
“There is just one name on there – Ursula von der Leyen.”
Mocking the “lack of choice” for the MEPs in choosing their Commission President, Tom swiped: “They do get to say yes or no, but that’s all they get to say.
“So obviously such a knife edge vote for her – the only candidate there in the commission’s formal presidential election.”
Tom Harwood joked that the election was a ‘knife edge vote’ for ‘only candidate’ von der Leyen
GB News
When asked by co-host Emily Carver what would have happened if Von der Leyen had lost the election, Tom explained that the commission would have to “find another candidate”.
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Tom told GB News: “They’d have to go away, and the council would have to propose a different candidate.
“But the whole point of the of the European Council is that they always sort of propose one candidate, and very often it’s not someone that you’d expect. Do you remember when Jean-Claude Juncker got in and people weren’t expecting it to be Jean-Claude Juncker?”
Tom continued: “And after he went, no one at all expected Ursula von der Leyen would be the candidate of any of these parties. She wasn’t even featured in the debates.
“And then a grubby little compromise was made between the council members and promoted her, and there we have it.”
Von der Leyen won 401 votes in her favour, with 284 votes against and 15 abstentions
PA
Sending his congratulations to the Commission President, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “looking forward” to working with Von der Leyen and “resetting” UK-EU ties over the next five years.
In a statement which came as he met fellow leaders at Blenheim Palace for the European Political Community summit, the PM said: “Congratulations Ursula von der Leyen on your re-election as President of the EU Commission.
“I look forward to working closely with you to reset the relationship between the UK and the European Union.”