The European Parliament president announced she will not pursue the leadership of Malta’s centre-right Nationalist Party, stating she “cannot abandon” her responsibilities in Brussels midway through her mandate. The remarks are her first public response following the resignation of the party’s leader.

When Bernard Grech, party leader of Metsola’s centre-right Nationalist Party (NP) stepped down on Tuesday, speculations about the European Parliament president’s potential return to Maltese politics ran high.

On Wednesday, one Nationalist Party MP even offered to vacate his parliamentary seat to make way for a future party leader who “might not be a Member of the Maltese Parliament”. The role had been a possible option for Metsola, who is currently 10 months into serving a second term as EP president.

“In politics, there is no greater personal ambition than leading your party to victory in the elections and becoming Prime Minister of your country,” Metsola wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday. “But all this is not about my personal ambitions.”

Metsola had been sounding out party members about whether she could remain as EP president while taking on a ceremonial leadership role in the party back home. But her statement on weekend put paid to that option.

“Over the last few days I have tried to find a formula by which I can help the Party in the best possible way, while fulfilling my duties responsibly as President of the European Parliament. A commitment that I cannot abandon halfway,” she wrote.

Full support for future NP leader

Metsola reaffirmed her commitment to the party, expressing full support for its future leadership. “I will be more willing than ever to help the new Leader in any way and role he calls me to, to strengthen the Party, win the election and save our country,” she said. “The new Party Leader will have my full support.”

Malta’s most popular politician by far, Metsola won two-thirds of her party’s total votes in the European Parliament election last year. At 46, she has experienced a meteoric rise in EU politics, far exceeding expectations for a politician from the bloc’s smallest member state.

With the NP party suffering badly in the polls, – 14 points behind the centre-left Labour party – her decision not to pursue the party leadership is likely to reshape the internal dynamics of the party as it begins its search for a new leader.

Eddy Wax contributed to reporting.