Euroviews. 'The new Ursula': How von der Leyen learned to stop worrying and love Meloni

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen currently finds herself in a state of anxiety, and it's easy to see why. 

From the controversial appointment of her ally Markus Pieper to a €17k per month job, to her diminishing influence within both the EU and her party, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), her campaign is not going as planned. 

Additionally, her recent discord with Manfred Weber, the European People’s Party (EPP) leader, further complicates matters.

At first glance, her prospects of clinching another win in the forthcoming MEP vote as the EPP's frontrunner may still appear promising. 

However, her once unwavering popularity has diminished. Despite facing these challenges, she seems to retain a few potential, albeit sinister, strategies in her arsenal.

Von der Leyen embarked on a rather unconventional rebranding. "Ursula 2024" seems to bear striking similarities to Nigel Farage’s UKIP, evident in its colours, rhetoric, and tone. 

She wants to reshape her image before the European elections by emphasising values, family and, of course, pledging (even more) support for Ukraine.

Her new agenda unfolded live in Maastricht on the evening of 29 April, courtesy of Politico's election debate. Yet, the plot thickened further during the discourse.

The “new” Ursula dropped a bombshell, openly suggesting for the first time that the European Parliament’s grand coalition between EPP and the S&D (Socialists and Democrats) might crumble, paving the way for an unexpected dalliance with the far-right.

The mention of the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) marks the first clear indication that von der Leyen and the European centre-right are poised to align with a group that, aside from the neo-fascist