Change of guard at EU, but lurch to the right sparks alarm

The EU faces a political shift as centrists lose ground to the right, with Giorgia Meloni rising as a key figure. Antonio Costa becomes Council President, but Ursula von der Leyen’s weak confirmation exposes fractures. Interviewed by The Times, Alberto Alemanno, law professor at HEC Paris Business School, warns this marks the end of the centrist era, as Germany and France’s instability threatens the bloc’s cohesion.