The German technocrat will focus on business, conservative values ​​and external security threats in his second term at the helm of the European Commission.

After an intense round of negotiations with parliamentary groups from across the political spectrum, German conservative politician Ursula von der Leyen has secured a second term as president of the European Commission. She won a secret ballot of the newly elected European Parliament with 401 votes in favor, well above the required majority of 360. Other presidents have served two terms before her, but she is the first to be elected twice by the parliament, which since 2014 elects, not merely approves, the EU’s top leader.

The centrist coalition that launched its bid – the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the centrist liberals Renew – managed to push through with the support of the Greens, who along with Renew suffered significant losses in the European Parliament elections in June.

A central point of debate within the coalition was whether to isolate or incorporate far-right parties, which have made major gains. Together they have just one less MEP than the EPP, currently the largest group in parliament. The “cordon sanitaire” against the far right is now limited to just two of the three far-right groups: Patriots of Europe, where France’s Rassemblement National, Hungary’s Fidesz and Italy’s League, with their Eurosceptic positions and pro-Vladimir Putin sympathies, are likely to be more than a headache for the new commission, and Europe of Sovereign Nations, a collection of ultra-nationalist parties led by the extremist Alternative für Deutschland. Both groups voted against von der Leyen.

Without a clear mandate from the S&D, Renew and the Greens, but with the support of the EPP, von der Leyen held an open dialogue with the third far-right grouping in parliament, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), in an attempt to win the votes of Brothers of Italy, the party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the ECR’s most prominent political formation. In the end, the ECR said its members would vote according to their “national interests”. Meloni’s party voted against the German technocrat, but got one parliamentary vice-president elected alongside another Latvian ECR MEP.

Von der Leyen’s programmatic speech to parliament on Thursday shows that Europe’s technocracy to the right is showing a deeper trend than just the trading of power based on contingency.

The re-elected President of the European Commission has developed an effective rhetorical style that, by using right-wing keywords such as ‘culture’ and ‘values’, elevates Europe to an imaginary object to be cherished and desired – which she summarizes as ‘our European way of life’. Europe is ‘our homeland’ with a symbolic role akin to that of the ‘nation’ in far-right discourse.

Von der Leyen’s Europe faces multiple threats that require protective and decisive action. The Green Deal – perhaps her most important bipartisan legacy – is being reframed in the language of economic prosperity and competitiveness, echoing the brand of economic nationalism that former President Donald Trump mainstreamed in the United States. The focus is on creating wealth and prosperity for European businesses, farmers and workers, with no meaningful conversation about alliances with other global players – and certainly not with countries in the Global South, which hold the bulk of the critical resources needed for the green transition. This is a conservative response to the massive wave of green skepticism that reached the ballot box in June – attacking European green policies is the new “culture war” of the far right.

Von der Leyen argued that Europe needs protection from external security threats – not just from war, through the legitimate and widely shared goal of a common European defence system, but also from migrants and refugees. She backed the European consensus against immigration on the streets and promised to expand the much-criticised European border agency Frontex. This is likely to bring even more death, suffering and human rights violations to those trying to cross borders into Europe while fleeing wars, natural disasters and poverty.

Following Meloni’s Mattei Plan for Africa, von der Leyen cynically announced a new commissioner for the Mediterranean region, whose role will be to oversee strategic partnerships with non-European countries related to stemming migration flows. The blueprint is the infamous agreement signed with Tunisia last year – marked by two joint visits to Tunis by von der Leyen, Meloni and then-Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the promise of more than $1 billion to help Tunisia out of its unprecedented economic crisis in exchange for preventing migration from the Tunisian coast to Europe.

Protecting democracy – another key theme in the German politician’s story – is also closely linked to the need to counter hostile external forces. She proposed a European Democratic Shield to address foreign information manipulation and interference. These concerns are real and need to be addressed, but more is surely needed to preserve and revitalize democracy.

As a consensus leader – a necessity dictated by the structure of the European Union – von der Leyen rightly stressed the importance of social rights and social dialogue. She proposed a housing plan that addresses the plight of millions of European workers who struggle to find decent, affordable housing, especially in cities. Yet her speech left you with the feeling that signalling her progressive allies was a mere footnote to her core vision.

Ultimately, von der Leyen argues for an inward-looking Europe that prioritises its own wealth and privilege over global cooperation and social justice, while intensifying fear-mongering, hatred and violence against migrants and refugees. The results of the June election suggest that the European Commission president may be interpreting the sentiments of large parts of Europe’s population. While progressive forces call her to account on inequality, welfare and the environment, opposition to her anti-immigration policies remains muted. Europeans who believe that humanity and solidarity are non-negotiable fundamentals for Europe’s future will find it difficult to fight against the tide.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.