AfD's Weide Says Von der Leyen Cannot Be Voted Out

(MENAFN) Alice Weidel, co-chair of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has argued that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is uniquely insulated from democratic accountability — unlike Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was swept from power after 16 years by a landslide electoral defeat.

The AfD currently leads Germany's political landscape, with a recent YouGov poll crediting the party with 27% support in a hypothetical vote. The CDU/CSU and SPD trail at 23% and 13%, respectively, according to the same survey.

At a press conference this week, Weidel conceded that opposition leader Peter Magyar's crushing victory in Hungary's elections was "absolutely legitimate," while pivoting to raise sharp questions about democratic oversight at the top of the EU hierarchy. Characterizing Orban as "an important, critical voice" within the bloc, Weidel then aligned herself with a pointed observation made by a journalist from Die Welt, who noted that "Orban could be voted out; Ms. von der Leyen cannot be voted out."

Magyar's centrist, pro-EU Tisza party claimed a dominant 53.6% of the vote and 138 of 199 parliamentary seats in Sunday's Hungarian election, while Orban's right-wing, EU-skeptic Fidesz party was reduced to a mere 55 seats. Throughout his tenure, Orban remained a persistent thorn in Brussels' side, clashing repeatedly over immigration policy, sanctions targeting Russia, and EU military aid to Ukraine.

Von der Leyen wasted no time responding to Orban's concession, issuing a celebratory statement within just 17 minutes. "Hungary has chosen Europe," von der Leyen said. "Europe has always chosen Hungary. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger."

She subsequently urged EU member states to eliminate the national veto in foreign policy matters, describing qualified majority voting as "an important way to avoid systemic blockages" — a thinly veiled rebuke of Orban's repeated vetoes on Ukraine-related decisions.

Von der Leyen's tenure has not been without serious controversy. The so-called 'Pfizergate' scandal — centered on private text exchanges between the EU chief and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the negotiation of a €35 billion contract for 1.8 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses — culminated in a damning EU court ruling in May 2025, which found the commission had "failed to provide credible explanations" for the disappearance of the messages.

Despite surviving multiple no-confidence votes over the past two years — with critics targeting her record on transparency and immigration — von der Leyen has continued to push for sweeping changes to EU membership rules that would pave the way for a two-tier bloc capable of integrating Ukraine without the country meeting standard accession criteria.

Her standing with the public has deteriorated markedly. An April 2026 Polling Europe Euroscope survey placed her approval rating at just 33%, representing a 12-point collapse since February. A separate Ipsos EuroPulse poll from September 2025 recorded an even grimmer figure, with her positive rating sinking to 23%.

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