Brussels. The glacial silence of Ursula von der Leyen. At least according to what was reconstructed byAnsa, for which the President of the European Commission has not yet spoken to Charles Michel, the chairman of the European Council, after the “sofagate” on Tuesday. The former Belgian premier ended up in the crosshairs for not reacting, for not getting up, when the German remained standing, without a chair, at the top with Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She was then forced to sit on the beige sofa at least three meters away from the two men. For the moment, it emerges in the capital of the Union, no phone calls are planned between the two. However, Michel himself, interviewed last night by Belgian TV Ln, he said he tried to reach von der Leyen on the phone and that he thought he could talk to him in the evening. Too bad that the German for now seems to have no intention of answering him.
Draghi: “Erdogan is a dictator”. Lite Ankara-Roma on Von der Leyen
by Gabriella Colarusso
It is not only von der Leyen who is cold towards his colleague, but also a large part of the European establishment. In Brussels one wonders whether Michel’s failure to react to the embarrassing scene of the two chairs is to be explained by a lack of quick reflexes or by a precise choice. On the other hand, it was Michel’s protocol that prepared the visit to Ankara and the Belgian himself admitted that his parents had been informed of the seating arrangement during the meeting, but did not understand that they were so far apart. The Turks, for their part, have made it known that it was the Europeans, therefore the staff of the President of the European Council, who asked to arrange the seats in that way. It is not clear if Michel was aware of this, but the scene in which he sits down, opens his jacket, crosses his legs and does not intervene when von der Leyen, embarrassed, remains standing, without a seat, remains impressed. A situation that certainly did not displease Erdogan, who took the opportunity to show off diplomatic machismo.
Turkey, the writer Aykol: “Von der Leyen’s lack of a chair? An artfully prepared scene. Erdogan punished those who criticized him the most”
by Marco Ansaldo
Meanwhile, the European Parliament is preparing to listen to Michel and von der Leyen at the plenary at the end of the month. For the Belgian, the intervention in the courtroom will not be easy: a climate of hostility towards him is expected. At the initiative of the Democrat Massimiliano Smeriglio, 22 MEPs of the Socialists and Democrats, the second group in Strasbourg after the EPP, have signed a letter calling for the Belgian’s resignation. The front could widen. The MEPs of the Democratic Party Alessandra Moretti e Patrizia Toia instead they asked the S&D parent company, Iratxe Garcia Perez, to “stigmatize Michel’s behavior with a formal act”. At least with a “censorship”.
Sofa-gate, Michel and the jealousies for Von der Leyen: “He decided the protocol, now he has to resign”
by our correspondent Alberto d’Argenio
At the moment, despite the discontent of all of Europe with Michel’s attitude – who yesterday had to admit the mistake to calm the spirits – it seems difficult that the Belgian can be pushed to resign. They would open an institutional crisis in Europe and give Erdogan – who has already received the humiliation of von der Leyen who was in Ankara also to raise the issue of Turkey’s farewell to the Istanbul Convention against violence against women – the satisfaction of doing drop the president of the European Council with a chair. However, the confirmation of Michel at the end of his mandate, in 13 months, today seems far from obvious.
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