Jordan Bardella says Ursula von der Leyen must go, and eyes close partnership with right-wing leaders in Germany and Italy
Ursula von der Leyen should step down as European Commission president, said Jordan Bardella, raising the prospect of a profound EU shake-up if he or Marine Le Pen wins the French presidential election next April.
“Ursula von der Leyen is jointly responsible for the decline that European nations find themselves in today,” Bardella, president of the right-wing nationalist National Rally party, said at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday.
“We have fought, we are fighting and we will continue to fight the politics of the European Commission. And we consider that she should go,” said Bardella, speaking alongside Tom Van Grieken, the leader of the far-right Flemish nationalist party Vlaams Belang.
Repeating that his first trip abroad would be to Brussels, Bardella said he was ready to work with right-wing leaders in Germany and Italy as “chosen allies” on key priorities, from slashing EU bureaucracy to re-industrialising Europe and clamping down on migration.
