'EU Small State' Mediterranean Malta Native
Wins 90% of Valid Votes
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, was re-elected on the 16th (local time) with overwhelming support. She also set a record as the first female president to serve a consecutive term.
On the same day, Metsola received 562 votes, accounting for 90% of the total 623 valid votes, in the election held on the first day of the 10th European Parliament opening ceremony and plenary session in Strasbourg, France. Her competitor, Irene Montero, former Spanish Minister of Equality from the left-wing camp, received only 61 votes.
After confirming her re-election, President Metsola emphasized in her speech, "The polarization of our society is increasingly spreading into confrontational politics, even political violence," and stressed, "We must break away from zero-sum thinking that excludes people and turns them against each other."
Metsola's re-election was somewhat anticipated. The European People's Party (EPP), to which Metsola belongs, is the largest political group in the European Parliament, and it is known that major political groups, including the EPP, tentatively agreed to support Metsola's consecutive term following last month's European Parliament elections.
Hailing from Malta, a small country with a population of 500,000, Metsola is credited with contributing to the integration of diverse voices within the Parliament through a pragmatic approach. Especially after the recent European Parliament elections saw a significant rise of far-right forces, voices calling for the centrist faction, led by Metsola, to serve as a "bulwark of unity" have grown louder.
According to tradition, the presidency is shared equally between members of the two largest political groups, the EPP and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), during the five-year term of the European Parliament. Therefore, it is expected that after Metsola completes her second term, a member of the S&D will take over the presidency.
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the executive branch, is scheduled for a confirmation vote on the 18th to secure her reappointment as Commission President. For the position of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Estonia's female Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has been nominated. If Metsola, von der Leyen, and Kallas are confirmed as expected, three of the so-called EU "Big Four" positions will be held by women.
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