“Creepy bureaucracy”
Strack-Zimmermann attacks von der Leyen
April 27, 2024, 5:38 p.m
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The FDP politician Strack-Zimmermann is known for her clear words. At the Liberal party conference, the top candidate for the European elections is now firing sharp shots at EU Commission President von der Leyen. She accuses her of not being close to the citizens – and of blocking the economy.
The FDP’s top candidate for the European elections has blamed EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for problems facing companies in the EU and for military weakness. “In the IHK company barometer for the European elections, only five percent of German industrial companies said that the EU had become more attractive as a location in the last five years,” criticized Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann at the FDP federal party conference in Berlin. “After such a vote of no confidence in our economy, how can one simply want to run for re-election as Commission President?”
Von der Leyen’s policy follows the pattern that everything has to be regulated multiple times. At the same time, the CDU politician avoids the voters. “Mrs von der Leyen doesn’t face the citizens. She doesn’t travel across the country,” said Strack-Zimmermann. “But politics has to be close to the people. It has to be market-oriented. And that’s not always comfortable.”
Strack-Zimmermann, who is chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, accused von der Leyen of not having sufficiently committed herself to military cooperation and strengthening in the EU while in office. “As a former defense minister, Ms. von der Leyen did not care about Europe’s security, even though the signals from the United States were clear that the European Union had to deliver more and do more, even within NATO,” said Strack-Zimmermann.
“As a former labor minister, Ms. von der Leyen paid little attention to the economy and certainly not to the middle class. Without its success, companies will lose jobs due to the poor general conditions and this creepy bureaucracy.”