site.bta"Roberta Metsola Is Proof There Is Opportunity for All in Europe", Maltese Journalist Says

The European elections in Malta ended with a rather surprising result, both for the parties themselves and for the analysts, but one thing is for sure: the charismatic figure of Roberta Metsola stood out as she collected a record number of votes in the history of elections in Malta, MaltaToday journalist Karl Azzopardi said in a BTA interview after his country voted in the European elections June 8.

The turnout was expected to be lower, around 68-69% , and it was closer to 73-74% which was the same as in the 2019 European elections, Azzopardi said. The projections for the results were also wrong; the expectations were for a difference of 27,000 - 28,000 votes, and it was much narrower. This result is significant because it is the smallest difference between the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party in a European election, the journalist notes.  In the 2022 general election it was 36,000 - 37,000 votes. The biggest factor is Roberta Metsolla, who enjoys broad support across the country and this leads to better results for the Nationalist Party, Azzopardi commented. 

He said the campaign included the issues of defence and taxation, but the main focus was on local issues. This is a kind of test for the government and the opposition and shows that there is some excessive tension. 

The Maltese journalist thinks realistically that with only six MEPs, it is hard for his country to get anything done. However, the election of Roberta Metsola as President of the European Parliament clearly shows that there is opportunity for all in Europe. "We still have to be realistic and I don't think that with only six seats, Malta will start dictating EU policy," he said.

He added that it was "good to have people like Metsola and [MEP] Alex Saliba", who fought battles with big companies like Apple.

Azzopardi said that Malta has the same problems as Italy, Spain, Greece - migration, taxation, "but it is a small country and it is an island".