It was Ursula von der Leyen‘s great “je vous ai compris” (’I understood you') moment. With her successful reappointment, her speech and political directives, the Commission president showed that she has been listening carefully: both to the right-leaning European electorate and to the centre-left Brussels establishment, which is keen to keep these right-wing ideas out. Von der Leyen knows better than anyone else: listening does not mean ‘we do as you say’.
Read Sandrino Smeets ‘ opinion in de Volkskrant here. (Only in Dutch).