The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is preparing to face a rare vote of censure in the European parliament that is likely to reveal discontent about the rightward drift of EU policies, writes The Guardian.

"Von der Leyen is expected to comfortably survive a vote on Thursday [July, 10] on the censure motion, which in theory could trigger the downfall of her commission. While her survival is considered a certainty, the debate has lifted the lid on simmering discontent among centrist, centre-left and green MEPs who voted her back into office just under one year ago, after elections that gave rightwing nationalists their best-ever results.

The motion of censure – tabled by the far-right, vaccine-sceptic Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea – is ostensibly about von der Leyen`s refusal to release text messages exchanged with the Pfizer chief executive at the height of the Covid pandemic. Her stonewalling on the SMS messages has been condemned by the EU’s highest court and described as "maladministration" by an independent watchdog.

The motion also includes criticism of the EU’s Covid recovery funds and the legal basis of a EUR 150bn defence fund, as well as unsubstantiated claims of interference in recent elections in Germany and Romania.

Piperea`s text won the backing of 76 like-minded nationalists and extremists, clearing the 10% threshold required to get on the agenda".