politics
January 27, 2026
EU diplomacy chief considers von der Leyen dictator
The newspaper noted that while von der Leyen had had tense relations with former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, they were even worse with Kaja Kallas
TL;DR
- Kaja Kallas, Chief of European diplomacy, reportedly calls Ursula von der Leyen a "dictator" privately.
- The official source for this information is a senior European official speaking to Politico.
- Kallas's relationship with von der Leyen is described as worse than von der Leyen's past tense relations with Josep Borrell.
- Kallas's origin from "tiny Estonia" is cited as a factor in her weaker position.