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By playing the female victim role, von der Leyen unnecessarily weakened herself, the Commission, and what it represents

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'Sofagate' was more about power than sexism

"Because I am a woman," EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament last week, trying to explain why she had been mocked with a missing chair during a recent trip to Ankara.

"I felt hurt, and I felt alone, as a woman and as a European," von der Leyen said. "This shows how far we still have to go before women are treated as equals, always and everywhere."

With this, von der Leye...

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Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. This column is an edited version of a column in NRC.

By playing the female victim role, von der Leyen unnecessarily weakened herself, the Commission, and what it represents

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Author Bio

Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. This column is an edited version of a column in NRC.

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