European Parliament re-elects Roberta Metsola of Malta to lead 720 member EU body

July 16 (UPI) -- Roberta Metsola of Malta on Tuesday was re-elected president of the European Parliament after June's elections saw gains for right-leaning political parties.

In Tuesday morning's vote, Metsola, 45 comfortably got 562 votes of 623 cast gaining a majority of the 720 European Parliament members to keep her current position for another two-and-a-half-year term.

"We must be the voice that ensures all of our policies work and that they work well for young people, for families, for farmers and for industry alike," Metsola said in her acceptance speech.

The European Parliament is one of three legislative bodies of the European Union, and Metsola's role is to preside over EP debates and activities in Strasbourg, France. Metsola, 45, is from Malta, the smallest European Union member nation.

"We have learnt that we can never take democracy for granted," she added. "We have seen that our European values are regarded by too many as a threat. It is a badge given to us by autocrats that we will continue to wear proudly."

A member of the Maltese European People's Party, hailing from the EU's smallest member nation, Metsola was first elected to the parliament job in January 2022 after the death of her predecessor David Sassoli in a landslide 458 to 616 vote victory that made her the youngest person elected to the role as she had just turned 43.

"This must be a House that cannot be afraid to lead and change," she said before the vote , paying tribute Sassoli. "I will never shy away from taking the difficult decisions."

Metsola outlined climate change, migration, artificial intelligence , social rights, competitiveness, simplifying bureaucracy, fighting hate speech and defending fundamental values as areas where EP lawmakers should focus with a goal to "leave Europe a better place than the one we found."

"We must be ready to face this new world and this new reality," she said Tuesday.

It was largely expected Metsola would be re-elected. A left-leaning candidate, Spain's former minister of equality Irene Montero had announced a symbolic candidacy, garnering only 61 votes for a job historically split between two political factions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to social media Tuesday morning to congratulate Metsola on a "fully deserved" re-election.

"Your leadership and passion for Europe is more needed than ever," von der Leyen posted on X .

Metsola won praise when she visited Kyiv in war-torn Ukraine in April 2022 where she gave what has been described as a "heartfelt" endorsement of Ukraine's plan to join the EU.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he "greatly appreciates" Metsola's "personal involvement" in Ukraine and her "unwavering commitment" to protecting the public and "upholding our European way of life."

"I look forward to continuing our close cooperation in order to restore a just peace sooner," Zelensky wrote on X .

In June, far-right political parties made strong gains in EP elections after four days of voting to send representatives to the 720-seat legislature across the 27-member country bloc.

The center-right Christian Democrat European People's Party consolidated its position as the largest grouping in the assembly winning in Germany, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Croatia, Greece and a better-than-expected showing in the Netherlands.

The results added another 13 seats to bring Metsola's center-right European People's Party total to 185 backed by its Socialists and Democrats partner, which held roughly steady at 137, but pro-Europe parties Renew and The Greens lost at least 42 seats in original tallies.

However, far-right parties in France, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and to a lesser extent in Germany and Romania were the big winners.

"Polarization in our societies has led to more confrontational politics, even political violence," Metsola said Tuesday.

This arrives after the attempted assassination days ago of former President Donald Trump , another assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and assaults on Denmark's prime minister and a German lawmaker.

"The easy answers that divide our communities into 'us' and 'them,'" she said. "We need to move beyond this zero-sum thinking that has excluded people, that turns people away. That foments anger and hate rather than builds hope and belief."