Raffaele Fitto’s executive vice presidency undermined by Dombrovskis’ “special” role

Brussels – At the end of it, the controversy over the executive vice-presidency of the new Commission to Raffaele Fitto (that emerged yesterday at Ursula von der Leyen’s presentation of the College) may be at least partially overdone. From a political point of view, they certainly hit the mark: the College is heavily biased toward the right, but after all, this is the Zeitgeist of today’s Europe. Looking at the practical side, however, the office given to the Italian candidate may be more a political recognition (to Giorgia Meloni, not Fitto) than an assignment of substantive powers.

Sources inside the Berlaymont palace confirmed today (Sept. 18) that more than one commissioner at the same time will handle some of the more complex dossiers, a practice already in use in the outgoing College. Such will be the case, for example, of the Recovery and resilience facility (the Facility for Recovery and Resilience, otherwise known as the Recovery Fund), which Fitto will handle at the highest level along with Valdis Dombrovskis, commissioner-designate of Latvia (already in his third term, if as is likely MEPs will approve him in the fall). While the Italian candidate was assigned one of the six executive vice-presidencies in addition to the portfolio on Cohesion and Reforms, Dombrovskis  “only” has the mandate over the Economy and Productivity along with those of Implementation and Simplification.

Yet, Dombrovskis will report directly to the president on this file, a senior Commission official noted, de facto overruling vice-president Fitto. It was probably a way to counterbalance the influence granted to the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party of which Fratelli d’Italia is a member – which, let’s remember, is not part of the majority that supported von der Leyen’s re-election. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” says an old proverb. It is hard to tell whether the relationship between the popular German and the Italian premier is of friendship or rivalry (political, of course). Thus, the head of the EU executive may have decided to grant Meloni an executive vice-presidency as a  “sweetener” but without giving him power and to impose on Fitto a double level of surveillance: from above, precisely by von der Leyen and from below (or rather from the side, since the commissioners are all formally at the same level) by fellow Dombrovskis.

Perhaps this is just speculation. However, in politics, such subtleties are often crucial. Of course, the fact remains that for the first time in history, a weighty role on the Commission went to a member of the radical right – a novelty that was probably to be expected, given that this College is the most right-wing ever. Still, it would seem that von der Leyen wants to keep all the power – the real power – in the home of the Populars (Dombrovskis, too, just happens to be part of the EPP).

The only caveat is that when the next multi-year budget starts (for 2028-2034), the president will reserve the possibility of shuffling the cards in her College, adjusting the organization and the distribution of responsibilities and, more importantly, resources. Even without changing the current portfolios, von der Leyen may alter the specific weight (and relative importance) of the members of her team to align them with eventual changes in the priorities of the Union’s new budget. For example, in the final part of this term (which expires in 2029), defense and enlargement dossiers could gain renewed centrality; in that case, the commissioners in charge would become more important and could “climb” the College hierarchy.