Cypriot MEP’s social media poll shapes Von der Leyen’s fate
Nicosia (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Cypriot MEP Fidias Panayiotou polled his followers on X about endorsing Ursula von der Leyen for European Commission President, gathering over 100,000 votes.
Cypriot MEP and social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou extended a poll on X, the social media platform generously known as Twitter, requesting his followers whether or not he should vote to endorse Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President for a second term.
He asked his supporters, “Do you want me to vote for Ursula von der Leyen to remain as president of the European Commission?” with a simple yes or no poll underneath.
Clarifying his decision to publicise the poll in a video posted to the same platform, he stated“You guys will decide if you want me to vote for her or against her.”
How Did Fidias’ Followers Vote on Von der Leyen?
This poll was then retweeted by the platform’s owner Elon Musk, who noted, “Fidias is right. Super important decision”. As of midday on Sunday, more than 100,000 accounts have voted in the vote, with just 15 per cent having voted in turn of von der Leyen, and the remaining 85 per cent holding voted against. However, there is no way of proving on such a platform that users with numerous accounts, or even bots, have not voted.
Von der Leyen was nominated by the European Union’s 27 member states’ heads of government, known as the European Council, in June, with the European parliament set to have its say on Thursday.
What Are the European Parliament’s Voting Requirements?
The European parliament vote needs a simple majority of 361 out of 720 MEPs in a secret ballot which is to be carried at 2 pm Cyprus time on the day. The vote looks assigned to go to the wire, with all 188 MEPs from the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the body which appointed von der Leyen as their “spitzenkandidat” – the candidate they would assign to be European Commission president were they to succeed the most seats – at this year’s European elections, placed to vote in her favour. However, other groups have made it evident that their backing will be conditional on demands being met.
The centre-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group, which has 139 MEPs made clear their list of “key demands” on Tuesday, while centrist group Renew Europe, which has 102 MEPs, insisted von der Leyen must “respect the Green Deal”.
Renew Europe group chief Valerie Hayer made clear her belief that von der Leyen must listen to her demands, stating“Without our support, no stable pro-European majority is achievable.”
With the number of voices on either side potentially selected to be close, Fidias’ vote could be impactful on the absolute result. Should von der Leyen fail to succeed at least 361 votes, the European Council will have to reconvene and designate a new European Commission president.
