Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived two rare no-confidence votes on her leadership. The European Parliament on Thursday, 9 October, voted on two motions—one by the far left and one by the far right. Both were rejected with a clear majority.
Ms Von der Leyen saw positive numbers on Thursday in the Parliament as she enjoyed strong backing from the majority of MEPs. In the first case, tabled by far-right MEPs, there were 179 votes in favour, 378 against and 37 abstentions. In the second case, submitted by far-left, numbers were pretty similar: 133 in favour, 383 against, with 78 abstentions.
Three censure motions within three months
Ms Von der Leyen has faced attempts to pass a no-confidence vote three times in just three months. The first attempt, which brought similar voting results as on Thursday, happened in early July. It is an extraordinary development as before that, similar voting had taken place long time ago, in 2014.
It was clear in advance that the Commission president was likely to survive. For a motion to be adopted, a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, representing a majority of component Members of Parliament, is needed.
