First modification:
Following the unexpected death of the president of the European Parliament, the Italian David Sassoli, the conservative Maltese politician, Roberta Metsola, assumed the acting presidency of the chamber. Metsola, a MEP from the conservative European People’s group, was already the favorite to succeed Sassoli in office.
Even with the shock in the body due to the unexpected death at the age of 65 of the president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, a man who is remembered for his affable and conciliatory character, the European Parliament has had to appoint his acting successor.
“As provided by the procedural rules, the acting presidency is ensured by the first vice president of Parliament in the days prior to the election of a new president,” said the European Parliament in a statement. In this case, the chosen one has been the conservative Roberta Metsola, a Maltese national and a member of the European People’s Party (EPP).
A lawyer specialized in European legislation, this 42-year-old Maltese was legal advisor to Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, between 2012 and 2013. In that same year, she was elected MEP by the Nationalist Party of her country, registered in the PPE.
“My heart is broken. Europe has lost a leader, I have lost a friend, democracy has lost a champion, “he wrote on his Twitter account after the news of the death of his predecessor.
Favorite for president during the second half of the legislature
Her interim appointment could be just a preview of the official appointment as president of the European Parliament for the second half of the legislature. Before Sassoli’s death, Metsola had already been named the EPP candidate to preside over Parliament in a vote that remains on the agenda for 18 January.
In it he will face the Polish conservative Kosma Zlotowski and the Spanish from the group of the European Left, Sira Rego. Everything indicates that Metsola will become the second woman to preside over this chamber after Simone Veil (1979-1982) and Nicole Fontaine (1999-2002).
If successful, it would also be the first time that two women have presided over the highest European institutions. Currently, the German Ursula von der Leyen serves as President of the Commission.
In favor of LGTBIQ rights, but against abortion
Roberta Metsola’s political profile is far from that of David Sassoli, a journalist by profession and with a markedly progressive character. It can be said that she belongs to the less conservative wing of the EPP due to her openness to dialogue on immigration policies and her public defense of the defense of women’s equality and the rights of LGTBIQ people, but she is also openly against the right to abortion.
Illegal in its country of birth, Malta, the small Mediterranean nation added a clause in its 2004 entry treaty to the community club stating that no European legislation in favor of termination of pregnancy would enter into force on its territory.
Metsola, for its part, has voted against abortion in the votes on the matter in the European Parliament. Among the European Socialists and the European left group, their position regarding sexist violence is also concerned because of their abstention in the European Parliament when it comes to classifying violence against women as a crime throughout the European Union.
In 2022, legislation against sexist violence will be one of the main challenges of the community club, also promoted by the president of the Commission. It remains to be seen what Metsola’s position will be if elected.
With EFE and local media.
.