Latest news with #noConfidence
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
People's views not same as those with lust for power, says PM's aide
The 'Turun Anwar' rally on Saturday was described by PAS as representing the people's vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. PETALING JAYA : The unity government will listen to all the people, and not just to the voices behind political microphones on rally stages, an aide to the prime minister said today. 'There is a big difference between the people's voice and the political agendas of certain parties who are trying to drag the people into validating their lust for power,' said Shamsul Iskandar Akin, senior political secretary to the prime minister. Shamsul Iskandar Akin. He said the government led by Anwar Ibrahim was built upon an electoral mandate and Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin and his coalition partners should return to the electoral arena if they were confident that public sentiment about the government had shifted. 'Not through street rallies, not by inflating crowd numbers, and not by manipulating racial and religious issues to provoke emotions,' he said in a statement, Bernama reported. His statement comes in the wake of the 'Turun Anwar' rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, which police said was attended by an estimated 18,000 people. However, PAS officials claimed that 200,000 people took part. The rally was later described by PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan as a vote of no confidence by the people against Anwar and he urged the prime minister to take heed of the turnout and resign instead of waiting for a confidence motion in the Dewan Rakyat. Shamsul said in a statement that the government respected the people's right to assemble and express opinions, and had ensured that no harsh action was taken, no tear gas fired, and no stages destroyed. 'The people's right to speak is protected. But their voices must not be exploited, and democracy must not be held hostage in the name of vengeance and power struggles,' he said.
Irish Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Von der Leyen's allies reject no-confidence motion through gritted teeth
On paper, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen comfortably breezed through a motion of no confidence in the European Parliament tabled by MEPs from the far right. Some 360 of the 553 MEPs who voted rejected the effort to censure Von der Leyen. If the motion had been successful, the head of the EU's powerful executive would have had to resign, along with the 26 EU commissioners who sit around the table with her. The motion was tabled by a far-right Romanian MEP, over a long-running controversy dubbed Pfizergate, related to the manner in which Von der Leyen had negotiated deals for supplies of Covid-19 vaccines during the height of the pandemic. The vote of censure was backed by 175 MEPs, who nearly all came from far-right or nationalist parties such as Law and Justice in Poland, Marine Le Pen's National Rally in France, Alternative for Germany and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban's party Fidesz. READ MORE Four Irish MEPs – Lynn Boylan, Kathleen Funchion, Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, and Ciaran Mullooly – were among a tiny group of others who voted in favour of her removal. The traditional middle-ground majority that for years has held the balance of power in the European Parliament shot down the motion. Von der Leyen knew she could rely on the support of her own political family, the European People's Party (EPP), which is the largest group in the parliament and includes Fine Gael and centre-right parties leading a dozen other national governments. The second biggest grouping, the centre-left Socialists and Democrats, supported her, as did Renew, the smaller centrist group dominated by French president Emmanuel Macron's party, and the Greens. It was clear, though, that many MEPs from those centre and centre-left groupings were giving Von der Leyen a dig-out through gritted teeth. Renew, the Greens and the Socialists and Democrats are irritated at Manfred Weber, the conservative German MEP who leads the EPP in the parliament. This 'centre majority' supported Von der Leyen's reappointment as head of the commission last year. Since then, however, Weber has been happy to have the EPP break away on certain votes and side with an alternative right-wing majority. The EPP has teamed up with nationalist and far-right parties to gut climate legislation and block an independent EU ethics watchdog, among other things. These more extreme-right MEPs are the same ones who supported the motion of no confidence in Von der Leyen on Thursday. [ Fianna Fáil MEPs will not support censure of Ursula von der Leyen Opens in new window ] 'Who do you want to govern with?' Iratxe García, the Spanish MEP who leads the Socialists and Democrats, asked Von der Leyen during a debate on the censure motion this week. Patience for Weber siding with those further to his right when it suits him is wearing thin. 'Respect your word, and if you betray it once again, the Socialists and Democrats will lead the resistance,' García told Von der Leyen. The leader of Renew, French MEP Valérie Hayer, had much the same message for the commission president. 'Don't take anything for granted, put your own political house in order, get a grip, so that we can work together with you,' she said. Far-right and hard-right parties gained ground in the European elections last year, winning about a quarter of the 720 seats in the parliament. At the time many insisted that, despite a growing wave of support for populist forces, the political centre had held. One year into this parliament's term, it is clear the populist right have a lot more influence over the EU legislative machine, thanks to their working relationship with Weber and the EPP. It is a situation Von der Leyen's centrist allies in Renew, the Greens, and the Socialists and Democrats may not be willing to tolerate indefinitely.
Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Fianna Fáil MEPs will not support censure of Ursula von der Leyen
Fianna Fáil's four MEPs will not be supporting a motion of no-confidence in European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen this week, which has been tabled by far-right parties. Politicians in the European Parliament are due to vote on whether to censure the political leadership of the EU's executive body, which if passed would force the resignation of Dr von der Leyen and her team of 26 EU commissioners, including former Fianna Fáil minister Michael McGrath . A group of 75 MEPs, mainly from far-right and nationalist parties in Poland, Romania, France and Germany, forced the motion of no-confidence on to the agenda. The vote will take place early on Thursday, with a two-thirds majority of the 720-seat European Parliament needed to be successful. It is expected the effort will fall far short. READ MORE Fianna Fáil's four MEPs spent recent days weighing up which way to vote, with supporting the motion, or abstaining, on the table. Cynthia Ní Mhurchú , a Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South, said she had decided against supporting the no-confidence motion, as it was being driven by 'Covid deniers and anti-vaxxers'. If the motion was successful it would trigger a political crisis and leave the commission leaderless at a 'critical moment' during negotiations to agree a tariff deal with the United States. 'I make no apologies for doing what I feel is right for Ireland, for our economy, for our farmers, protecting jobs and for economic stability,' she said. Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews said would abstain in the vote, to register his 'frustration' at the commission's inaction on Gaza, without supporting a motion put forward by far-right MEPs. The no-confidence vote was tabled over the 'Pfizergate' controversy, where the commission faced criticism for refusing to release text messages exchanged between Dr von der Leyen and the chief executive of Pfizer, during negotiations to secure supplies of Covid-19 vaccines at the height of the pandemic. Copies of the texts had been sought in access-to-information requests made by the New York Times, which later took the commission to court for blocking the release of the texts. Speaking this week, Dr von der Leyen said it was 'no secret' that she was in contact with senior figures in companies producing Covid-19 vaccines. 'The implication that these contacts were somehow inappropriate or against the European interest is, by any measure, simply wrong,' she told MEPs. In a statement, Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen said he remained 'highly critical' of Dr von der Leyen's leadership, but would not vote for the motion. 'The motion is not about Gaza or her broader leadership failings; it narrowly focuses on vaccine procurement and is driven by far-right forces seeking to exploit pandemic grievances,' he said. 'If this were a targeted motion against von der Leyen alone, or one related directly to her handling of Gaza, I may well have voted differently – but that is not the case,' Mr Cowen said. It is understood Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher will also vote against the motion. Fine Gael's four MEPs; Sean Kelly, Maria Walsh, Regina Doherty, and Nina Carberry, oppose the motion. Labour's Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said he would not support the effort to censure the commission, as he opposed co-operating with the far right. Sinn Féin's Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion said they would back the proposal, due to the failure of the EU to hold Israel to account for its conduct during its invasion of Gaza. Independent MEP Luke Ming Flanagan said he would also support the motion for similar reasons. Michael McNamara and Ciaran Mullooly did not respond to queries about how they planned to vote.
Russia Today
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Von der Leyen blames Russia for no-confidence motion
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has dismissed efforts by members of the European Parliament to oust her, branding her critics 'conspiracy theorists' and accusing them of acting on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Von der Leyen is facing a parliamentary motion of no-confidence in her presidency, which is scheduled for a vote on Thursday after being tabled by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea. Addressing the parliament during a debate on Monday, von der Leyen said those backing the proposal were following 'the oldest playbook of extremists' and were attempting to undermine public confidence in the EU with 'false claims.' 'There is no proof that they have any answers, but there is ample proof that many are supported by our enemies and by their puppet masters in Russia or elsewhere.' 'These are movements fueled by conspiracies, from anti-vaxxers to Putin apologists. And you only have to look at some of the signatories of this motion to understand what I mean.' In his remarks to parliament, Piperea accused the Commission of centralizing decision-making in a non-democratic fashion and of interfering in the internal affairs of member states. Russian officials have claimed that EU leaders are using fear tactics to shield themselves from criticism. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dubbed von der Leyen, who is German, a 'fuhrer' for her efforts to push a multi-billion euro militarization program on member states. Russia maintains that unlike Western states it does not interfere with other nations' domestic affairs. Von der Leyen urged 'all the pro-Europeans, pro-democracy forces' in the chamber to support her agenda, arguing that unity was essential to uphold the EU's foreign policy strength. Criticism of von der Leyen's leadership has centered on her handling of the EU's Covid-19 response during her first term, particularly the lack of transparency in finalizing a 2021 vaccine procurement deal with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. Earlier this year, the European Court of Justice found her office at fault for failing to retain text messages exchanged with Bourla and for refusing to release them to journalists with adequate justification. Piperea is a member of Romania's AUR party, led by George Simion, who narrowly lost a presidential runoff this year to a pro-EU candidate. The election followed a scrapped first-round vote earlier in 2024, in which outsider Calin Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner. The country's Constitutional Court annulled the results, citing government allegations of Russian interference. Critics of the EU claim the episode reflects a broader anti-democratic trend allegedly enabled by Brussels.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EU chief slams 'extremist' censure motion ahead of confidence vote
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen Monday dismissed a far-right sponsored motion of no confidence against her as a conspiracy theory-laden attempt to undermine European unity, ahead of a vote that casts renewed scrutiny on her leadership. The rare challenge has virtually no chance of unseating the conservative European Commission president when a vote is held Thursday in Strasbourg, France. But it provides her opponents across the spectrum a chance to flex their muscle. "It is taken right from the oldest playbook of extremists, polarising society, eroding trust in democracy with false claims," von der Leyen told the European Parliament Monday. Attacking its supporters as "anti-vaxxers" and Russian President Vladimir "Putin apologists", she urged lawmakers to vote down the challenge and renew confidence in her commission at a critical time for the bloc. "When the commission sits down with the US to negotiate on trade and tariffs, Europe must show strength. When we stand up for Ukraine's future, Europe must show strength," she said. "This strength only comes through our unity. So let us come together." The confidence vote was initiated by a Romanian far-right lawmaker, Gheorghe Piperea, who accuses von der Leyen of a lack of transparency over text messages she sent to the head of the Pfizer pharmaceutical giant when negotiating Covid vaccines. The commission's failure to release the messages -- the focus of multiple court cases -- has given weight to critics who accuse its boss of centralised and opaque decision-making. That is also a growing refrain from the commission chief's traditional allies on the left and centre, who have bones to pick over the status quo in parliament -- where her centre-right camp has increasingly teamed up with the far-right to further its agenda. - 'Putin's puppets' - "Pfizergate" aside, Romania's Piperea accuses the commission of interfering in his country's recent presidential election, which saw pro-European Nicusor Dan narrowly beat EU critic and nationalist George Simion. The vote came after Romania's constitutional court scrapped an initial ballot over allegations of Russian interference and massive social media promotion of the far-right frontrunner, who was barred from standing again. The EU opened a formal probe into TikTok after the cancelled vote. Piperea's challenge has support from part of the far-right -- including the Patriots for Europe group that includes France's National Rally and the party of Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban But Piperea's own group, the ECR, is split, as its largest faction, the party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, said it will back von der Leyen. The vote was set last week after the motion gathered the minimum 72 signatures -- one-tenth of the 720-seat legislature, where von der Leyen was re-elected with 401 votes last July. To pass it needs two-thirds of votes cast, representing a majority of all lawmakers. Parliament's biggest force, von der Leyen's European People's Party (EPP), flatly rejects the challenge to the commission chief, with group leader Manfred Weber describing it Monday as a waste of time. On the left and centre, there is no question of backing the motion. But both camps want von der Leyen to clarify her allegiances -- accusing her of cosying up to the far-right to push through contested measures -- most notably to roll back environmental rules. "Who do you want to govern with? Do you want to govern with those who want to destroy Europe, or those of us who fight every day to build it?" asked the head of the Socialists and Democrats, Iratxe Garcia Perez. Centrist leader Valerie Hayer described the commission as "too centralised and sclerotic" before warning von der Leyen that "nothing can be taken for granted." "Bring order back to your political family," she said. A successful no-confidence vote would trigger the resignation of von der Leyen's 27-member commission in what would be a historical first. The closest parallel dates from March 1999, when the team led by Luxembourg's Jacques Santer resigned over damning claims of corruption and mismanagement rather than face a confidence vote it was set to lose. adc-ub/gv
