von der Leyen is centre-right, ie. a conservative who pretends to be moderate. She's been very happy kissing literal neo-fascist Meloni's ass, so it's not at all unlikely she's doing this because of who you elected
I am not convinced by this. Trump is erratic and chaotic, and I can't imagine vdL likes dealing with that. Meloni is very different in that regard: She is a pretty reliable ally internationally/in the EU (such as in her position toward the war in Ukraine) and takes one step after the other towards a more authoritarian system internally -- the latter of which vdL is not too concerned with. In addition, while Italy is important within the EU, it's nowhere near as important as the US is on the world stage.
In addition, I believe vdL is moderate. However, she's definitely not a leftist, she's not going to leave her conservative bloc, and she wants to stay in power. And since the new European Parliament looks the way it does, including her own bloc moving to the right, she is forming creative coalitions.
There is a chance that US will change back its course in 4 years, while it's expected that Putin will lead Russia until his death. So at the moment for long term it's still better.