From Votes to Mandates? Assessing the European Commission's Responsiveness to Electoral Preferences

In 2014, Jean-Claude Juncker, the first Commission president nominated after the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and thus elected by the European Parliament as the winning Spitzenkandidat, called his Commission a highly political institution. The 2019 EP elections saw a change in the previous trend of ever-declining participation in European elections, signifying a possible shift in the citizen's engagement in EU politics. The long-standing claim of second-order elections no longer applies. However, does the European Commission respond to citizens' preferences? Does it feel and carry out an electoral mandate? Drawing on the literature on electoral mandates, politicisation, framing and agenda-setting, this paper analyses the issue and frame congruence between the perceived outcome of the European parliamentary elections and the plans and promises of the incoming European Commission. Using data from Eurobarometer surveys, media interpretations of electoral results and speeches and hearings of the candidates for the Commission president and members of the Commission for both the 2019 and 2024 parliamentary elections and the Commission investiture process, the paper presents an in-depth qualitative analysis demonstrating Commission's responsiveness to issues and frames preferred by the European voters. Ultimately, it aims to contribute to the debate on the politicisation and democratic legitimacy of the Commission and the EU as a whole.