Recently, there is a piece of news about the European Union, which is not very conspicuous, but very interesting.
According to reference news on the 26th, citing Bloomberg news, French President Emmanuel Macron is negotiating with leaders of other EU countries, trying to find another candidate for the highest position in the European Commission, and nominated Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister and former President of the European Central Bank.
In other words, Macron is considering "replacing" the current president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
That's where it gets interesting. Von der Leyen was able to change from "German Defense Minister" to "President of the European Union" with a narrow margin of 383 votes in favor, 327 votes against, and 22 abstentions, and the key driver of this is Macron. At that time, von der Leyen and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel were very close. Merkel and Macron also have a good relationship, and as soon as the two combined, they pushed von der Leyen up.
So, why "replace" von der Leyen, who he once pushed, at this time?
Judging from what von der Leyen has done in recent years, in Macron's eyes, von der Leyen is simply a "European traitor":
In the past four years in office, within the European Union, Germany and France have weakened their leadership over the institution, used sensitive issues to provoke China and undermine China-EU relations in their relations with China, and sanctioned Russian energy and promoted aid plans in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, triggering serious inflation and energy crises in Europe. Originally, in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the EU had a strong voice in the resolution of this crisis, and in the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Macron even felt that he had the ability to coordinate with Putin, but under von der Leyen's manipulation, the EU's voice became smaller and smaller, and as a result, it became a "blood bag" for the United States to aid Ukraine. It can be said that von der Leyen perfectly interprets what it means to be an "agent" of the United States.
This is clearly contrary to Macron's philosophy. Macron's desire is clear: Europe will not be a vassal of the United States, but a stronger, integrated European defense system. And this is what Macron has been calling for since he shouted the phrase "NATO is 'brain dead'".
Until February this year, von der Leyen had been avoiding the topic of "whether to choose to be re-elected", carefully guarding her "intentions". It wasn't until February 19 that von der Leyen made it public at a meeting of the CDU that she planned to seek a second term as president of the European Commission. Dragged to this point, is it also afraid that even the arbitrary picture will be exposed too early and will be interfered with too much?
Macron's choice to release the intention of "replacing" von der Leyen at this time may not only be indeed dissatisfied with von der Leyen, but also may be a warning to von der Leyen to be less politicized and accept some of Macron's own political views and views.
So, will von der Leyen be "replaced"?
On April 25, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban publicly stated in a speech that Western liberal hegemony had failed and must be destroyed, suggesting that it could end as soon as this year. He also criticized that the "world order based on progressive liberal hegemony" has given rise to countless figures who are "unfit to be leaders."
Among this "unfit to be a leader", there is a high probability that von der Leyen will have a seat. Does Orban's "end" also mean something, and the term of office of the "agent" von der Leyen of the United States should also end.
Of course, it is debatable whether the EU can have the final say on its own in the "replacement" of von der Leyen this time.