Poll: President of the European Commission is losing her popularity in Europe

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A poll showed a division in the European Union regarding the attempt of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to win a second term, as 63% of European voters have a negative view of the work of the Commission, or have no opinion, and this indicates that the executive authority of the Union doesn’t affect most of the European Union.

Around 37% of Europeans in 18 EU member countries considered that they viewed the work of the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen positively, while 31% said they viewed it negatively and 32% didn’t know.

The sample included 26,000 European citizens, and was conducted by Ipsos specifically for Euronews.

This poll comes two months before about 370 million Europeans vote to elect new members of the European Parliament, opening the race to lead the Commission, which has broad powers to legislate on many issues such as technology, health care and social rights.

Von der Leyen, a German national, is currently a candidate to win a second five-year presidential term, after the European People’s Party (EPP) selected her as its main candidate.

But the condition for securing this second term is that she be nominated by European Union leaders and that she obtains majority support in the newly elected European Parliament.

But despite von der Leyen’s strong reputation in political circles, she has been criticized for her infrequent public appearances and reluctance to take to the streets to meet voters, even while campaigning.

Support for von der Leyen appeared in only three member states: Portugal (61%), Denmark (54%) and Spain (54%), while the lowest level of support was recorded in France, at 18%, while 36% of survey participants considered it The Commission works negatively, while the remaining 46% don’t know.

Also, 41% of respondents in Austria view the Commission negatively, and in Hungary and the Czech Republic, 38% of potential voters hold a negative view, and about a third of Europeans don’t have complete knowledge of the Commission to be able to form an opinion about its work.

The support of fringe parties, especially far-right ones, has created a crisis over the credibility of the Commission’s work, as populist parties blame Brussels for the economic downturn and social conflicts in Europe, raising suspicions against the institution.

Also, 61% of voters of far-right parties (such as the French National Rally, the Italian Lega, and the Alternative for Germany party) see the Commission as negative, while only 12% of them see it as positive.

The majority of conservative Eurosceptic voters also view the Commission negatively, at 52%, and the negative view is also large among voters from the far left, at 39%.

Support for the Commission is highest among the main center-left Socialists and the European People’s Party (EPP), to which von der Leyen belongs.

In order to instill anti-Brussels sentiment, extreme right-wing and populist parties attack the Commission, and the Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, for example, doesn’t hesitate to smear von der Leyen in public advertising campaigns

The Commission’s reputation may be suffering in many member states, but EU membership still enjoys broad support, according to the poll, with 62% of respondents saying it was good.

The highest percentage of support was in Portugal, Spain and Denmark, and the lowest in the Czech Republic, France and Italy.

It’s noted that 48% of those belonging to Euroskeptic parties (such as the Spanish Vox Party, the Italian Fratelli d’Italia Party, and the Polish Law and Justice Party) consider European Union membership to be a good thing.

Voters generally view EU membership as more positive than the work of the European Commission.

Data from election campaigns in several European countries confirm that the Commission, as an institution, is the one that raises more skepticism about Europe among voters.

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