Metsola on 'full campaign mode' as she eyes third EP President term

Roberta Metsola is seeking a third term as European Parliament President, European media is reporting.

According to Euractiv, its sources indicate that the European People’s Party (EPP) is aiming to take advantage of the weakened socialist S&D, and nominate Metsola for a third term. 

If so, she would be the first EP President to serve three terms in this office. 

According to Euractiv, EPP President Manfred Weber is backing a third Metsola term, with the latter reportedly being on “full campaign mode.”

Earlier this year, after refusing to rule out a return to Maltese politics, Metsola refused to abandon her post as EP President in order to contest an internal leadership race within the PN. 

She described her role at the EP as, “A commitment that I cannot abandon halfway through.”

On Wednesday, Euractiv reported that there have been subtle hints that Metsola is appealing to MEPs on the right and far-right.

“She granted the far-right a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk, the murdered MAGA activist, by bundling it with other topics, such as the Manchester antisemitic terror attack. And she also did not stop the Patriots from imposing a debate about the danger that migrants pose to women and children,” the website reports.

This, as well as the EPP’s supposed snubbing of its deal with the S&D, means that the former risks angering the latter.