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STRASBOURG, Nov. 27-- A new European Commission with Germany's Ursula von der Leyen as its first female president was approved by the European Parliament here on Wednesday. The vote -- 461 in favor, 157 against and 89 abstentions -- was unsurprising, since she had already cleared the hurdles with European Union (EU) lawmakers in recent days. Since being named to the post of president by leaders of the 28 EU member states, von der Leyen's start had been shaky. She struggled through her first vote in the European Parliament, winning by only nine votes in her own confirmation, after which several of her nominations of new European commissioners were defeated by lawmakers, leading to weeks of delay in taking office. | 
