Maltese Roberta Metsola elected for European Parliament
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Metsola is the first female to lead the European parliament in 20 years, winning a majority vote.
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Metsola, the new President of the European Parliament
Conservative Maltese Roberta Metsola was elected President of the European Parliament on Tuesday by an absolute majority in the first round of voting, despite her anti-abortion stance.
Metsola is the third woman to preside over the European Parliament after the French Simone Veil (1979-1982) and Nicole Fontaine (1999-2002). She expressed her hope that it would not take "two decades for a woman" to acquire this position again.
After the results were revealed, addressing the prevention of abortion, Roberta Metsola expressed her determination to "go further for greater equality between men and women to ensure and defend women's rights and all our rights."
The beliefs of Metsola, who is a mother of four, have drawn criticism from some of her colleagues in the European Parliament. Clement Beaune, the French Foreign Minister in charge of European affairs, said he was "disturbed by the symbol of her election."
She contends that she is aware of the criticisms regarding the issue, but before the vote, she affirmed that her "position is that of the European parliament,” she told journalists. “And on this issue, this European Parliament, on all sexual and reproductive health rights, it has been unambiguous, it has repeatedly called for these rights to be better protected.”
Metsola will succeed former President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, who is a social democrat from Italy. She will be leading the institution until the next European elections in the summer of 2024.
Metsola will be the youngest President of the European Parliament. Initially a European deputy since 2013, she announced her intention to defend the "founding principles of Europe against cheap solutions of nationalism, authoritarianism, protectionism, isolationism.”
She also emphasized her ambition to make Europe the "first carbon-neutral continent" to reshape the economy, "I want people to recapture a sense of belief and enthusiasm for our project. […] Dear Europeans, in the next years, people across Europe will look to our institution for leadership and direction, while others will continue to test the limits of our democratic values and European principles."
Rotation elections
The election of Metsola comes within the framework of respecting the tradition of balancing out left and right for the presidential election in the Parliament, which was adhered to during the midterm elections in the Parliament.
Metsola is a member of the European People's Party, the largest political bloc in the Parliament. She won the support of the Socialists and Democrats and the Renew group, thanks to an agreement between the 3 parties in a common roadmap.
The roadmap explores the Parliament's commitment to women's rights in Europe, including "sexual and reproductive health." It also gives close attention to maintaining the rule of law in the face of violations occurring in many member states.
Three candidates
Roberta Metsola's opponents were two candidates: Spain's Serra Rego (left-wing) and Sweden's Alice Bah Kohnke (European Green Party).
Poland's Kuzma Zlotowski (from a Eurosceptic party), who had the support of the Identity and Democracy Party (ultra-right), withdrew his candidacy overnight.
She received 458 votes out of 690 casts among the 705 European MPs called to vote. Kohnke received 101 votes to 57 for Serra Rego.
