Roberta Metsola was re-elected President of the European Parliament after winning the vote against Irene Monteiro

Popular Maltese Roberta Metsola has been elected as President of the European Parliament in the first session of the new legislature. Metsola had only one alternative candidacy, that of Irene Monteiro, who is making her debut in the European Parliament as the group’s candidate. , From the Unitary Left to the presidency of the Chamber, a role that her husband, Pablo Iglesias, held when he joined the institution in 2014.

Metsola was elected under the traditional agreement of a five-year distribution of the legislature, two and a half years for a popular party and the other half for a socialist one. Metsola received an overwhelming majority of 562 votes compared to the Spanish candidate’s 61.

In the plenary session, 14 vice-presidents are also appointed, this time as pressure from radical right-wing groups has increased the most and there is a demand for a more important role in this legislative institution.

The election of the president of the chamber marks the start of a new legislature in the European Union. On Thursday, parliament will vote on whether to approve a second term for Ursula von der Leyen as head of the European Commission.