Robert Abela wanted the three Labour MEPs to vote in favour of Roberta Metsola’s re-election as president of the European Parliament but at least two of them refused, despite intense talks on Monday evening.

Sources in Strasbourg and close to the MEPs and the PL told Times of Malta that, until Monday, Alex Agius Saliba wanted to vote against Metsola’s second term – keeping with his promise to voters during the election campaign – and newly elected MEP Daniel Attard was unsure how to vote.

Thomas Bajada wanted to vote in favour of her and the dissent caused a clash within Labour, as Abela had publicly expressed his support for Metsola last month and said he would back her for a second term.

He made it clear to his MEPs that he expected them to follow suit.

With Metsola the only candidate on the ballot, MEPs originally had the option to support her, vote against her or abstain, in a compromise with Abela.

“That way, they wouldn’t upset Abela by voting against her re-election while also not upsetting their voters by voting in favour,” one Strasbourg source said.

However, the last-minute entry of Spanish MEP Irene Montero stripped them of the option to vote against Metsola. The ballot only allowed MEPs to vote for either candidate or abstain.

The alternative to Metsola was not a ‘no’ vote but a non-Maltese candidate with very different principles to theirs and was never considered a serious option by Agius Saliba or Attard.

“So if you think about it, the abstention is a ‘no’, not a compromise,” one source said.

Agius Saliba, Attard explain decision

Yesterday, after the election, Agius Saliba and Attard explained their decision.

Attard wrote on Facebook: “I can never vote in favour of those who seek personal interest before their nation’s. So, in line with what I said during the electoral campaign and with conviction and in line with my principles, I have chosen to abstain.”

In a separate post, Agius Saliba said: “Consistent with what I said during the election campaign, this morning I chose not to participate in the vote.

“I could not support Roberta Metsola because [I do not agree with her] on matters of principle and also because, over the past two years, she acted in a way that is contrary [to what I believe].”

Metsola was a frequent target of Labour’s criticism throughout the electoral campaign, with the prime minister and also several MEP candidates accusing her of fomenting conflict by calling for an increase in EU defence and military spending.

But, a few weeks later, the day after Metsola was confirmed as the EPP candidate for the presidency, Abela told Times of Malta he would back her nomination for a second term.

After the election  Abela congratulated Metsola and explained his position.

“The national interest drove me to strongly support her nomination for president,” he said, stressing that the two MEPs did not vote against Metsola.

The PL disagreed with Metsola on a number of issues and will probably continue to do so, he said, but when it came to filling one of the most prominent seats in the EU, he also had to consider that this was an opportunity for a Maltese person to occupy one of the most important roles.

Between a rock and a hard place

Abela’s position over the past few weeks put Agius Saliba and Attard – both of whom “campaigned for the hard-core Labour vote” – between a rock and a hard place, the sources said.

“We backed ourselves into a corner here because we hit out at Metsola almost constantly over the past months but we also always took pride in never voting against our country when we’re in the EU and criticised PN MEPs when they did it,” another source said.

“Now, Abela backed Metsola to avoid backtracking on his vow to always vote for Malta and the MEPs were forced to refrain from voting for Malta to save face with voters. They didn’t vote against, granted, but the point remains that they didn’t vote for their country.”

It is very unusual for Labour MPs to go against the party leader – in fact, the party’s critics often argue they toe the party line too much.

Sources also suggested Bajada voted in favour of Metsola’s re-election, but when Times of Malta contacted him about his vote, he would not confirm or deny and said he wanted to explain his decision in more detail in a press conference later on Wednesday.

Agius Saliba, on the other hand, appeared to suggest all Labour MEPs adopted the same position.

“We won’t budge. This is a delegation decision,” he told Times of Malta.

In his later Facebook post, Agius Saliba said that he could also not support the unexpected candidacy of the Spanish MEP because her priorities were different to the ones he had, especially because she believes “in the imposition of abortion on every member state”.

‘Unbelievable’ – David Casa

Meanwhile, Metsola’s party colleague, David Casa, said Agius Saliba, who had campaigned defending “the criminally charged” former prime minister Joseph Muscat was acting “in defiance” of Abela.

“Unbelievable,” he said.

“People expect better than the division and confusion that have become the hallmarks of Labour’s MEP delegation.”

Newly elected Nationalist MEP Peter Agius shared a video showing him casting his vote for his party colleague.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ian Borg congratulated Metsola for winning another term.

“2024 is indeed a historic year for Malta, with our seat on the UN Security Council, the 2024 Maltese Chairpersonship of the OSCE, and a Maltese MEP leading the European Parliament,” he wrote on social media.

In the vote the 720 MEPs had the option to choose a candidate or abstain.

In January 2022, when Metsola was elected president for the first time, Agius Saliba had voted in favour of her.