Robert Abela’s election through the eyes of the international media

Robert Abela was elected new Labour leader on Saturday and will be Malta’s 14th prime minister when he takes his oath of office tomorrow.

In a landslide victory for Abela, he manged to get 57.9% of the vote, garnering 2,544 more votes than his competitor Chris Fearne.

17,500 Labour Party members were eligible to vote.

The election came in the midst of a political crisis, after outgoing Prime Minister Joseph Muscat handed in his resignation, in the aftermath of damning court testimony, that implicated his former chief of staff Keith Schembri in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.

Muscat has repeatedly said that he “paid the highest political price”.

With the eyes of the world on Malta, Abela’s election holds a higher significance than those who came before him.

This is what international media outlets had to say about his election:

France 24

The French media outlet described Abela as being an element of “continuity” to Muscat’s leadership. The newspaper also reported on how activist groups have cast doubts on whether Muscat’s successor “would bring about real change.”

The Telegraph  

The news outlet reported how Abela called for national unity in his first speech as new leader. The Telegraph also made reference to how activists had stormed Castille, demanding the immediate resignation of PM Joseph Muscat.

BBC News

The British news portal spoke of Abela’s election, and laid out the statistics of his electoral victory. It also made reference to Muscat’s resignation in connection with the Caruana Galizia murder. “Mr Muscat's handling of the murder inquiry caused widespread anger,” the article read.

Al Jazeera

The Qatari state-funded news portal also made reference to the Caruana Galizia murder, and spoke about Abela’s lack of criticism towards his predecessor. They also spoke about Caruana Galizia’s investigative work before her untimely death.

Politico

The Italian news outlet reported on Abela’s victory, quoting voter turnout and percentage difference. It also spoke of Chris Fearne’s chances at the beginning of the race, after he had been touted to succeed Muscat as Malta’s next PM.