Why is Ursula von der Leyen out wooing voters who can’t

Commission chief is not running in MEP elections but is doing all she can to boost increasingly shaky bid for second term

She has inspected a drone factory in Latvia, laid flowers at a monument to the late Pope John Paul II in Poland and posed with a shaggy dog in Luxembourg. From Copenhagen to Split, Maastricht to Plovdiv, she has given speeches, shaken hands, signed T-shirts and posed for a lot of selfies. It has been a busy few weeks for Ursula von der Leyen, who is seeking a second five-year term as head of the European Commission, one of the most powerful jobs in European politics.

With cheering activists and campaign “merch” – as team Von der Leyen refers to its royal purple branded mugs and hoodies – it looks like any other drive to get the vote out. There is even a video of the commission president striding purposefully along a lane near her countryside home to dramatic orchestral music. “Campaigning is one of the best things that ever happened to me in my life,” the German politician said at a recent debate with rival candidates.