Roberta Metsola has had her role as president of the European Parliament renewed by an overwhelming vote taken last Tuesday.

One is tempted to say “as expected”, given the work she carried out in the last two and a half years. But these things cannot really be taken for granted, given the political manoeuvrings that go on behind the scenes. Although she was the favourite to win the election, and the name of an adversary only came up one day before the vote was taken, until the votes are cast there can never be certainty.

To obtain more than 90 per cent of the valid votes cast is a strong indication that the European Parliament members were happy with the way she did her work since January 2022. And they wanted her to stay in the job.

Many of the MEPs who voted for her had a place in the EP in the last term. They know what Metsola did and what she stood for, and voted for continuity. Other MEPs who were elected for the first time also saw in Metsola a well-prepared politician who has been able to run the institution well in spite of all the tribulations of the last 30 months, including a war just outside the EU’s borders. They also voted for her.

She is the first woman in EU history to hold the position for two consecutive terms. Her task over the next two years will be to see that the EP maintains the momentum it has built. This is by no means an easy task, given that she has set a high bar.

It is unfortunate to note that two of the three Labour MEPs have chosen to not give their support to Metsola. Alex Agius Saliba and newcomer Daniel Attard both abstained in the vote, going against the direction that was given by Prime Minister Robert Abela who insisted, more than once, that the national interest always prevails in international fora. Still, Agius Saliba and Attard chose to ignore their leader’s advice.

In their convoluted explanation, they have run around in circles in an attempt to justify their decision. Photos of Agius Saliba staring into space sitting down while other MEPs around him rise to give Metsola a standing ovation – including her election adversary Irene Montero – are self-explanatory. It’s a pity that he and Attard could not rise beyond petty partisan politics.

On the other hand, Labour’s youngest MEP, Thomas Bajada, did the right thing by voting in favour of Metsola’s nomination.

Malta, with six MEPs, has the smallest share of MEPs (together with Cyprus and Luxembourg). And so having one of them take up such an important post is an even bigger achievement.

In her acceptance speech, Metsola gave a wide-ranging account of what is to be expected in the next months and years, giving importance to issues that are high on the EP’s agenda, such as the war in Ukraine, the expansion of the European Union and what she described as the “looking” housing crisis in Europe, for which the EP must come up with the tools to address it.

Democracy cannot be taken for granted, she said. The comfort of easy politics does not offer solutions, and so Europe must continue building on being the opposition to autocracy, and not being afraid to take the difficult path.