Metsola Set For Re-Election; Focus On FdI Seeking VP Slot

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola (EPP) is set for re-election to a second two-and-a-half-year term in office. Hailing from the conservative Nationalist Party in Malta, Metsola has been able to reach across the political divide during her first term and as such only faced token opposition from the far-left The Left group. Counting is ongoing in the EP plenary session in Strasbourg.

• Following Metsola's (expected) re-election the votes to elect the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament will take place. The VPs preside over plenary sessions when the president is not present, while senior VPs will also coordiate the EP's relations with member state parliaments and civil society groups.
• The major focus will be on whether Italian MEP Antonella Sberna is elected. Sberna is from Italian PM Giorgia Meloni's conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) party. Historically the main moderate groups (EPP, S&D, RE) have formed a cordon sanitaire to block candidates they view as too far right-wing from being elected to senior positions.
• However, with Meloni head of gov't in the third-largest EU economy, there is speculation that Sberna could be backed by EPP MEPs in order to foster cordial relations with Meloni. MEPs from other ECR members have historically held VP or quaestor positions in the EP.
• Boosting links with Meloni and her group could prove crucial for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who faces a tight re-election vote on 18 July. However, the move could backfire with stronger EPP-ECR links risking leftist MEPs splitting away and opposing VdL.