Strasbourg, France, Jan 18 (AFP/APP):Lawmakers in the European Parliament voted Tuesday for a new speaker, with centre-right Maltese politician Roberta Metsola favourite to win despite controversy over her anti-abortion stance.
The election comes a week after the shock death of outgoing centre-left parliament president David Sassoli, who was due to step down as part of a power-sharing deal by the legislature’s main political groupings.
Metsola — a member of the largest bloc, the European People’s Party — is frontrunner to become only the third woman to run the parliament and thechamber’s youngest ever head at the age of 43.
“I am a woman from a small island in the middle of Europe’s southern sea. I know what it means to be the underdog,” Metsola said in her final appeal to lawmakers in Strasbourg.
“Our president needs to be a consensus builder who listens, who can bridge the differences and hold the centre.”
The mother-of-four styles herself as a pro-LGBTQ progressive and champion of women’s rights — but her tough stance over abortion has drawn criticism from opponents.
Abortion is illegal in largely Catholic Malta — the EU’s smallest nation — and Metsola in June voted against a report urging all member states to offer safe access to terminations.
That stance has seen the Left and Green groups in parliament field two staunchly pro-choice feminists as their challengers.
But a backroom deal between the major political forces means that Metsola’s election to head the parliament until mid-2024 appears to be in the bag.
The winning candidate needs to secure a majority of votes in a secret ballot. The process will go to a series of run-offs throughout the day until a victor is found.
The presidency of the European Parliament is one of the top jobs in the EU’s hierarchy — but the chamber is often accused by its critics of lacking real power.
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