The first four commissioners, Sefcovic, Micallef, Tzitzikostas and Hansen, pass the parliamentary test. All in a balancing game with words based on “but also”. Like Sefcovic, who on China looked like a juggler hanging by a thread. Also in these hearings, the formidable ECR-EPP axis jumps out at you.  If Fitto, for example, lacks the support of the Socialists, retaliation against Spain’s Teresa Ribera would be automatic. And in this case it would come not only from the conservatives, but from the EPP itself

The volley of questions, the fear of stumbling over a few gaffes, but also the feeling that in the end the game will be resolved in a gigantic pact of non-belligerence.

After days of waiting, the hearings of the 26 commissioner candidates of the future executive, led by Ursula von der Leyen, began in the Euro Chamber.

The round of examinations began with the Slovak Maros Sefcovic, who will be in charge of trade and economic security, and the Maltese Glen Micallef, who will be in charge of culture, youth and sport. The date circled in red, however, is November 12, when the six candidates for the vice-presidency will be heard. All eyes are on Raffaele Fitto and the dissatisfaction of the pro-European parties. From the EPP, however, a clear message has gone out to the Socialists, Greens and Liberals: blowing up the Italian would mean triggering a "war" of votes with an unpredictable outcome. In fact, the delicate balance between the forces in the field is based on the voting mechanism. The candidate passes if at least 2/3 of the members of the relevant parliamentary committee (or committees) support him or her. The physical vote, at least in the first two rounds, is not cast by individual MEPs, but by the coordinators of each political group represented in the voting committee. With one consequence: in most cases, a commissioner-designate does not need an Ursula majority to be approved. 

The coordinators of the political groups in the European Parliament's Transport Committee also promoted Apolostos Tzitzikostas, Ursula von der Leyen's nominee for EU Transport Commissioner for the new term. 

Tzitzikostas won the support of all political groups except The Left, which abstained, and the Europe of Sovereign Nations (Ens) group.

The second evening hearing ended in the same way: the coordinators of the political groups in the Euro Chamber's Agriculture Committee gave their green light to the nomination of the Luxembourger Christophe Hansen as the next European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food by a large majority without further questions.  Representatives of the Left, Europe of Sovereign Nations and Patriots for Europe would not have given the full green light to the Luxembourg politician. Instead, it was the EPP, Socialists & Democrats, Renew Liberals, Greens and Ecr Conservatives who supported his nomination.

If, for example, Fitto lacked the support of the Socialists, the retaliation against the Spanish Teresa Ribera would be automatic. And in this case, it would come not only from the conservatives, but from the EPP itself. All this does not mean that the games are over. The Liberals, in a letter to von der Leyen, have warned in recent days that no betrayal of the pro-European majority will be tolerated. The Greens have stressed that their reservations are focused on Fitto and the Hungarian Oliver Varhelyi. The Socialists have for weeks been denouncing a two-pronged strategy allegedly being pursued by EPP leader Manfred Weber, with the aim of forming an axis with the sovereignists (Patriots first and foremost) if necessary. However, the room for maneuver for all three groups is narrow. The EPP, while asserting that the Ursula majority is and will remain the guiding star, did not hide one fact: it was the Popularists who won the elections, and the goal for the center-right group is to fulfill what it promised the voters.

On Fitto, Weber's entrenchment is ironclad: his profile is considered competent and reliable, the role of executive vice-president rewards a founding country like Italy and is non-negotiable.