Attard, Agius Saliba defy Robert Abela and abstain during EP President vote

Labour MEPs Alex Agius Saliba and Daniel Attard have defied Prime Minister Robert Abela and abstained during a vote for the European Parliament President on Tuesday.

Both MEPs announced on Facebook that they abstained during the vote, saying they would be staying consistent with what they had been preaching throughout the European Parliament election campaign.

“Never against Malta. However, I also cannot vote in favour of someone who put personal advancement before the national interest. Therefore, consistent with what I said during the campaign and with conviction in my principles, this morning I chose to abstain,” Daniel Attard, who was elected for the first time this year said.

Agius Saliba said he cannot vote for Metsola “due to several principles” that are too important for him, and which she acted against over the past two and half years.

“Consistent with what I always said during the electoral campaign, this morning I chose not to participate in the voting for the election of the new President of the European Parliament,” Agius Saliba said.

MaltaToday tried reaching out to Labour MEP Thomas Bajada, who refused to detail how he voted, saying he would be giving out more details in a press conference on Wednesday.

Agius Saliba and Attard have both defied Prime Minister Robert Abela, who when asked specifically about the EP President election last month, pledged to back her bid for a second term.

Abela said that he “always supports Maltese people who go abroad to occupy a role”, adding that he will “once again let the national interest guide direct (his) decision”.

“I would be inconsistent – and I would be adopting the Opposition leader’s position – if I took a partisan stance and sidelined the national interest,” he had said.

On the other hand, Minister Miriam Dalli, a former MEP, congratulated Metsola on her election.

“We worked together, we didn’t always agree, but I enjoy seeing a Maltese woman in the role,” Dalli said.

Malta’s Foreign Minister Ian Borg also congratulated Metsola in a message on X, describing this a historic year for Malta with its chairpersonship of the OSCE, the seat on the UN Security Council and now "a Maltese MEP leading the European Parliament".