A week after the death of David Sassoli (65), the European Parliament will elect a new president on Tuesday in Strasbourg. It is almost certain that on her 43rd birthday, Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola will become the third woman in history to lead the European hemisphere.
The 65-year-old Sassoli succumbed last week in a hospital in Rome after persistent health problems, but even without the death of the Italian social democrat, the more than 700 representatives would have to choose a new president on Tuesday. For example, after 2.5 years – halfway through the legislature – Sassoli’s mandate had come to an end.
In addition, a tribute was held in parliament for the Italian Sassoli on Monday evening. “Europe has lost a leader, democracy has lost a champion and we have all lost a friend,” Metsola said. Sassoli’s wife and children were present in Strasbourg. European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and government leaders from countries such as Greece, Croatia and Luxembourg had also traveled to Strasbourg.
Four candidates
Four MEPs are now running for the chair: in addition to Roberta Metsola from the European People’s Party (EPP), Sweden’s Alice Bah Kuhnke from the Green Group, the Pole Kosma Zlotowski from the conservative ECR Group and Spain’s Sira Rego from the far-left group submitted their candidacy before 5 p.m. on Monday evening.
The first round of voting will start around 9:30 am. To be elected, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority of the votes cast. If that is not possible in a first round, a second and possibly a third round will follow. If the white smoke still remains, the two candidates with the most votes in the third round will compete against each other in an ultimate fourth round.
Traditional chord
It probably won’t be a nail biter. In keeping with tradition, the EPP, the S&D Social Democrats and the Renew Liberals reached an agreement after the 2019 elections on the division of top positions. Sassoli was allowed to take the lead on behalf of S&D, for the second part of the legislature it is the turn of the EPP. The fact that neither S&D nor Renew has nominated their own candidate seems to confirm that the 2019 agreement has remained intact.
Still, the vote was preceded by some tug-of-war. Both S&D and Renew grumbled about Metsola’s opposition to abortion. Hearings took place, where the Maltese Conservative promised that as chair she would live up to the duties of her position and thus invariably represent the position of the hemisphere.
Halfway through the legislature, all top positions in the hemisphere will be redistributed. Following the election of the President, 14 new Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors are also elected. Together they sit in the Bureau, the body that takes organizational, administrative and financial decisions.
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