Roberta Metsola was re-elected for a second term as President of the European Parliament on Tuesday. The Maltese conservative won 90 per cent of the vote, the largest margin since direct parliamentary elections began in 1979.
The decisive victory came despite criticism in the run-up to the vote over her stance on preventing abortion in Malta. With 562 votes in her favour, she comfortably beat her left-wing rival Irene Montero of Spain, who polled just 61 votes. Some 76 ballot papers were left blank.
Metsola’s election for a second two-and-a-half-year term came a month after the EU elections, with the bloc facing a looming housing crisis and a stagnant economy.
Metsola thanked the assembly before urging lawmakers to recapture their belief that “belief that ours is a Europe for all.” She vowed to “leave Europe a better place by creating a new security and defense framework that keeps people safe.” Metsola also added:
“We must be the ones who push the legislation that our people want and need.”
