As the newly-elected European Parliament gathers in Strasbourg for its inaugural sitting on Tuesday, its first task will be to elect its president.

The election will see Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola run against Spanish MEP Irene Montero for the post.

The vote is unlikely to be contentious, with the incumbent president expected to cruise to a second term relatively unchallenged.

Despite Montero’s last-minute bid on Monday, reports from across Europe state her candidature is merely symbolic, and will not obstruct Metola’s path to re-election.

Montero, born in Madrid, Spain, previously served as Equality Minister in the Socialist Government of Spain from January 2020 to November 2023, and is a member of the leftist Podemos party.

According to reports, Metsola remains favourite for the role, having secured the EPP’s unanimous endorsement shortly after the MEP election.

Montero and Metsola will be presenting their pitches at 10am, and the winner will hold the position until January 2027.

The vote will be followed by the election of the 14 vice-presidents, proportionally distributed among the main parties. This will assess the effectiveness of the cordon sanitaire: Patriots for Europe is vying to secure one of the vice-presidents, something that the EPP, the Socialists and the Liberals have vowed to prevent.

“These are elected posts of the Parliament,” an EPP spokesperson said on Friday. “We don't want these MEPs to represent the institution, that’s the main reason.”

If confirmed, the Maltese MEP will occupy the role for the first half of the parliamentary term until January 2027.

Metsola was elected European Parliament president in January 2022 getting an absolute majority of votes on the first round.

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