The nomination of Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola as the European People’s Party candidate for the European Parliament’s presidential election on January 17 is a remarkable milestone in Maltese political history.
If she wins, she would be the highest-ranking politician in Maltese history and only the second woman to preside over the European Parliament.
Still, her best credential is that she is a politician of substance and a bridge-builder who believes in Europe and the democratic values it promotes.
This is especially remarkable in the context of the behaviour of some local politicians over the last several years who have raised serious doubts about their commitment to making people’s lives better rather than focusing on their self-interest.
Metsola has also gained much experience in her years as an MEP and has been involved in dossiers related to migration, civil liberties and security, LGBTQ rights, cutting bureaucracy for SMEs, Gozo’s regionality, climate change, women and youth empowerment, media freedom and fighting discrimination. A year ago, she was elected First Vice-President of the European Parliament, already an outstanding achievement.
Prime Minister Robert Abela begrudgingly backed Metsola for the post. He stated: “If I didn’t support her nomination, I would be doing what she did to our country.”
It has become predictable for local politicians to wear the patriotic mantle to score populist points against their political adversaries. One can only hope that the four Labour MEPs leave behind their local partisan baggage when they vote in January and support the Nationalist MEP.
The next few years are crucially important for the EU, which faces the daunting task of reviving its economies after years of sluggish growth and a devastating pandemic. In an interview with the Parliament Magazine last October, Metsola declared: “My basic guiding principle is that I believe in Europe. And this parliament will ensure that Europe comes back, that people recapture that sense of promise that our project has.”
This declaration needs to be shared by all MEPs of whatever political colour.
It encapsulates a vision that needs to be turned into reality to revive people’s trust in the Union.
EU governance faces challenges at all levels, not least the political one. Some countries are showing little or no respect for fundamental democratic values such as respect for the rule of law and the protection of minority rights. The migration challenge is not getting any easier. The EU needs to find ways of protecting its borders without resorting to the inhumane treatment of migrants being weaponised by some non-EU countries.
The European Parliament has a tradition of working and legislating beyond strict partisan boundaries. However, this does not mean that Metsola’s election as the next parliament’s president will be a foregone conclusion. The
arcane horse-trading process used by the political groupings in the EP makes it difficult to predict the outcome of any contest for a political appointment.
Still, every Maltese citizen should be proud of what Metsola has achieved so far and wish her well in whatever political role she will work in at the local and EU level.
Metsola’s vision for the European Parliament’s mission is the right one. In a recent interview, she said: “I think this parliament’s role is a legislative one but it is also a political one, which means if we want the right buttons to be pushed and the right questions to be asked or answered, then the parliament needs to be much more.”
Indeed, our representatives in the European Parliament need to go beyond promoting micro measures that have little substantive effect on people’s lives. They need to be politicians of substance who ask difficult questions and find the right answers to make people’s lives better.