On The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, Hugh Linehan connects with Jack Power and Derek Scally to delve into the recent shifts in European political landscape.
In a notable reshuffling by Ursula von der Leyen, the president of EU Commission, Michael McGrath from the Fianna Fáil party, was granted hold of the Justice portfolio. The question in everybody’s mind now is, why was Ireland entrusted with this specific role?
Dr. Von der Leyen has concentrated authority into the centre of the commission, a strategic move that may foster synergy. However, with a variety of potential threats looming ahead in the domains like economy, tech, and security, it’s crucial to ask whether the EU leadership can bring on the board the much-needed vigor to tackle these challenges proactively.
The unprecedented inclusion of a far right politician, Italy’s Raffaele Fitto, has served as a distinguishing feature of the revised commission. Coincidently, Austria, currently grappling with severe flooding, is on the brink of a general election that is expected to elect a government led by the far right. In such times of political fluidity in Europe, the all-encompassing question remains – can the EU adapt and keep up with these transformations?
Power is positioned as a Europe Correspondent while Scally serves as a journalist for the Irish Times in Berlin.