World Leader

Ursula von der Leyen

President of the European Commission, European Commission

OVERALL RANK

#5of 712

WORLD LEADER RANK

#5of 492

Total Quotes

Positive96%

Neutral4%

Negative0%

Sentiment Breakdown

Quote Timeline

Coverage by Category11,344 total

Geopolitics79%

Global Economy9%

Partnership Announcements2%

AI0.1%

Innovation & Technology0.0%

Social Impact0.0%

Energy Transition0.0%

Other10%

Analysis

Von der Leyen achieved the highest positive sentiment of any world leader at Davos 2026: 95.5% favorable, 0.4% negative. As European Commission President, she threaded a needle—acknowledging the 'rupture' in transatlantic relations while projecting calm institutional competence. Her 11,345 quotes made her the top-ranked EU official and the only leader to exceed 90% positivity.

Von der Leyen's Davos 2026 strategy was institutional reassurance in a moment of chaos. While Macron played attack dog and Carney built intellectual frameworks, she offered something simpler: the EU is stable, professional, and open for business.

Her coverage pattern was sharply front-loaded. The January 20th spike (6,350 quotes) came from her keynote on EU enlargement and strategic autonomy. But unlike the politicians who generated controversy, her coverage dropped quickly—415 quotes by January 22nd. She said what she came to say, then stepped back.

The sentiment numbers tell the real story. At 95.5% positive with 0.4% negative, von der Leyen didn't just avoid criticism—she achieved near-universal approval. This is extraordinarily difficult in the current political environment. She managed it by staying relentlessly on-message about institutional process.

Her topic distribution reveals the strategy: 79% Geopolitics, but an unusually high 9% Global Economy and 8% Policy Commentary. She wasn't just commenting on conflict—she was positioning the EU as an economic alternative.

The Partnership Announcements category (178 mentions) is her secret weapon. While others generated heat, von der Leyen generated deals. In a forum built on networking, she positioned herself as the leader who actually closes.

Key Findings

• 95.5% positive sentiment—the highest of any world leader at the forum, with just 0.4% negative
• Coverage concentrated on January 20th (6,350 quotes), during her speech on EU strategic autonomy
• German media dominated (Deutsche Welle, Schwäbische Post) but Dutch outlets (Brabants Dagblad, De Gelderlander) showed unusual engagement
• Partnership Announcements category (178 mentions) ranked higher than for any comparable leader—positioning her as deal-maker
• Her 'Nostalgia will not bring back the old order' quote became the institutional counterpoint to Trump's rhetoric

Coverage by Source

Deutsche Welle221

Schwäbische Post185

Invezz163

Economic Times149

SAPO133

Kölnische Rundschau110

Brabants Dagblad91

Westfalen-Blatt90

De Gelderlander88

Business Standard85

Sample Quotes

“too little in the Arctic and the security of the Arctic.”

Deutsche Welle

“Tonight you are in my thoughts”

cnbctv18.com

“a man with a vision, he modernised Cyprus, advanced its peace process and paved its way into our Union. He was a true European”

Financial Mirror

“The EU seeks full political and economic independence and sees a permanent political divorce from the United States, while emphasizing enlargement to Ukraine, possible future accession of Norway and Iceland, and closer cooperation with Canada and the United Kingdom.”