Anti-abortion Lawmaker Poised To Become New EU Parliament Chief

Strasbourg, France, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jan, 2022 ) :Lawmakers in the European Parliament voted Tuesday for a new speaker, with centre-right Maltese politician Roberta Metsola favourite to win despite controversy over her anti-abortion stance.

The election comes a week after the shock death of outgoing centre-left parliament president David Sassoli, who was due to step down as part of a power-sharing deal by the legislature's main political groupings.

Metsola -- a member of the largest bloc, the European People's Party -- is frontrunner to become only the third woman to run the parliament and the chamber's youngest ever head at the age of 43.

"I am a woman from a small island in the middle of Europe's southern sea. I know what it means to be the underdog," Metsola said in her final appeal to lawmakers in Strasbourg.

"Our president needs to be a consensus builder who listens, who can bridge the differences and hold the centre." The mother-of-four styles herself as a pro-LGBTQ progressive and champion of women's rights -- but her tough stance over abortion has drawn criticism from opponents.

Abortion is illegal in largely Catholic Malta -- the EU's smallest nation -- and Metsola in June voted against a report urging all member states to offer safe access to terminations.

That stance has seen the Left and Green groups in parliament field two staunchly pro-choice feminists as their challengers.

But a backroom deal between the major political forces means that Metsola's election to head the parliament until mid-2024 appears to be in the bag.

The winning candidate needs to secure a majority of votes in a secret ballot. The process will go to a series of run-offs throughout the day until a victor is found.

The presidency of the European Parliament is one of the top jobs in the EU's hierarchy -- but the chamber is often accused by its critics of lacking real power.