Carola Schoor on Politico on the State of the European Union speech
Carola Schoor, programme manager for Public Affairs at the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL), reflects on Politico on the State of the European Union speech by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from a political strategy and messaging perspective.
Ursula von der Leyen delivered the State of the Union address on September 14. In the speech, von der Leyen refers to the war in Ukraine. Schoor elaborates: 'The framing of the war as a fight of good against evil is a very sharp black/white opposition, breaking with the tradition of the EU of nuance and consensus'. Schoor observes that von der Leyen reframed Europe as a more agile player in world affairs.
Schoor notices that when von der Leyen uses difficult language, she makes hand gestures to the rhythm of the word. 'This made her look like a schoolteacher teaching vocabulary, said Schoor, 'which fits her image: She stands alone above the crowd, yet is involved.'
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Carola Schoor is programme manager for Public Affairs at the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL) of Leiden University, Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs. In 2020 she obtained her PhD (cum laude) on the subject of Political Style. Previously, she held various positions in Public Affairs and Political Communication: she was a senior Public Affairs advisor for the Association of Dutch Universities (VSNU), she worked in Brussels as a press officer for a Dutch Member of the European Parliament and in The Hague as an educational journalist.