Brussels Playbook Podcast· Folge 71

Von der Leyen won't run for a third term. Or will she?

Mittwoch, 17. Juni 2026 · 16 min

MP3

Shownotes

Ursula von der Leyen is only a year and a half into her second term, but Brussels is already whispering about a third. Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart examine what is fueling the speculation — from her sweeping overhaul of the European Commission to concerns that more power is being concentrated at the top.

Then, they explain why the U.S.-Iran peace deal has brought down oil and gas prices, but has not ended Europe’s energy worries.

And they take a first look at W, a new “made in Europe” social media platform hoping to challenge X with verified users, European data hosting and no bots.

Questions? Comments? Send us a voice note or message us on WhatsApp here (api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=32491050629&t…) or at +32 491 05 06 29.

Plus: On June 30th, we’re celebrating 100 episodes of the Brussels Playbook Podcast. Do you want to attend a live taping? Click here (politico.eu/event/registration/8565071) to register for a chance to apply!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

0:00 / 0:00