Von der Leyen thinks a second term’s in the bag — but scandals lurk

According to Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, an influential think-tank: “Von der Leyen is by a long way the most powerful president since Jacques Delors”, who was the scourge of British Eurosceptics when he headed the commission for a decade from 1985.

“She’s been effective because she’s focused and she’s got a very good political instinct for what the big issues are,” he added, noting she has got a lot right — whether on managing the European response to Covid and its economic aftermath or on standing up to Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader.