Compromise candidates have been nominated for the top EU jobs, who will require ratification by the EU Parliament on July 15th. None are from eastern Europe which may prove a problem.
Ursula von der Leyen, a staunch Merkel ally, stepped out of the shadows to be aimed for the Juncker role as Commission President. If agreed she would be the first woman to take on the role, with responsibilities for proposing new EU laws, enforcing the bloc’s rules and handling trade deals.
Born 8 October 1958, she studied economics and medicine, has seven children, has been German Minister for Defence recently and is a staunch integrationist, backing closer military co-operation in the EU. Her nomination has raised eyebrows in her home country. The FT writes: ‘ Mistrusted by her fellow Christian Democrats, pilloried by the opposition and disliked by many of the generals under her command, she cuts a lonely figure in Berlin. Few ministries have generated as many negative headlines as hers over the years.’
She is a Sun, Mercury and Venus in Libra with her Sun Mercury on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine to a can-be-constructive Uranus trine Saturn; plus a ferociously determined and ruthless Mars in Gemini square Pluto; and a head-in-the-clouds Jupiter Neptune.
Although she might seem a good fit with the EU since her Libra planets sit in the EU 1st house and many of her planets are the same being born 9 months after it was founded, she’s probably an even worse match than Juncker. On the relationship chart there’s a control-freaky and hostility-inducing composite Mars opposition Pluto square Venus which is trine/sextile a slippery, ambitious and scandal-attracting Jupiter Neptune.
Her own chart looks upbeat at the moment till late this September with tr Uranus in a ‘surprise lucky break’ opposition to her Jupiter, and again in early 2020. But there’s also a build up of Neptune first in a highly-strung and confused opposition to her Sun/Uranus late this year; and more of the same tripled from tr Pluto square her Sun/Neptune in 2020/2021 at the same time as a highly uncertain tr Neptune square her dogmatic Saturn in Sagittarius. Sinkholes galore.
Christine Lagarde, 1 January 1956 1.40 pm Paris, France, the present head of the IMF, is proposed to replace Draghi at the European Central Bank (ECB). She’s an ambitious Capricorn with a formidably determined and tough Mars Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto Jupiter. She will have her sagging moments but is in better fettle with a confident tr Pluto square her Jupiter/Node midpoint in 2020/2021. And she also has the hard-driving and can-be-influential tr Saturn Pluto moving across her midheaven and her 10th followed in late 2020 by tr Jupiter for a successful year.
Background on Lagarde isn’t overly cheerful (URL below) so maybe I might rethink that tr Saturn Pluto through her 10th, given that the EU chart itself has a seriously unstable three years 2020 to 2023 especially on the financial front with tr Uranus bouncing off the 8th house Moon, Uranus and Venus. She’s sailed through disasters before and emerged unscathed personally though leaving a trail of wreckage behind
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/07/03/putting-lagarde-charge-will-lead-eurozone-catastrophe/
Charles Michel, 21 December 1975, Belgian PM, is nominated as a replacement for European Council President Donald Tusk. Born 21 December 1975 he’s a late Sun Sagittarius in a lively and argumentative opposition to Mars in Gemini. He’s looking unnerved this year and paralysed in 2020/21 though will pick up thereafter.
His relationship with the EU is friendly but fractious with a composite Sun Mercury Venus trine Mars and square Saturn; and an enthusiastic though explosive Mars Uranus Pluto trine Jupiter. He’ll be living through a rolling series of changes in the EU fairly unhappily over the next several years.
The new President of the European Parliament (and no I haven’t the foggiest why there are so many presidents and distinctions without difference all tangled up in the Brussels bureaucracy) is Italian centre-left, former journalist David-Maria Sassoli, 30 May 1956. He’s a Sun Gemini with a megaton heavyweight Mars in Aquarius opposition Jupiter Pluto in Leo square Saturn in Scorpio – super-confident and very stubborn. It’ll be a white-knuckle ride until he gets to 2021 with his Solar Arc Mars and Saturn colliding with his Neptune and Uranus. He is a key figure for the EU with a composite New Moon in the relationship chart – so a complementary fit. But he’ll be increasingly disillusioned through 2022 to 2024 with the direction it is taking.
The most important takeaway from this: Spitzenkandidat System has ended. Weber and Tillemans didn’t even get a consolation prize. Overall, this was a big, big win for France and Macron, who orchestrated this. Which is interesting, given problems at home. But 5th Republic’s Progressed Sun is about to transit from 8th to 9th House (equal houses) and this is EXACTLY what I expected to happen.
Can you expand on what you mean by “transit from 8th to 9th House” and “this is EXACTLY what I expected to happen”.
Thank you very much Marjorie!
See that David Sassoli born 30 May 1956 in Florence, Italy who will be the new President of the European Parliament.
Would you have any further thought re him?
EU Parliament ignored the EU Councils choice Stanishev when they voted for Sassoli on 3 July 2019. Moon had moved from its eclipse point opposite the EUs 1956 Chart Sun to oppose Saturn and then Pluto during that day (it exactly opposed Pluto when Stromboli had its biggest eruption for years at 4.46 local time on 3rd). The Eclipse Sun will be at 22 Cancer opposite Pluto on 15 July 2019 when the EU Parliament has to ratify the EU Councils other selections.The centre left Socialists and the EPP are not particularly happy at Ursula Van Der Leyen’s appointment. I think there maybe eruptions of a political nature on 15th when the EU Parliament comes to vote. There may not be enough votes to confirm the Council’s choice of President. The biggest irony is that British MEPs votes including the Brexit Party could be crucial.
Just to add that the Spitzenkandidat for all its weaknesses did at least give the EU Commission Presidency the patina of democratic legitimacy. I am not sure what the position will be if Van Der Leyen does not get the 375 votes needed. Even if she makes the numbers thanks to some behind the scenes arm twisting I can’t help feeling that down the road the circumstances surrounding her appointment will come to haunt her particularly if the EU hits even rougher political and economic waters than it faces at the moment.