Updated: Arnold Cassola Praises Roberta Metsola For Chief Of Staff Appointment After Reporting Her To EU Ombudsman
Updated at 16:42pm
Independent politician Arnold Cassola has praised European Parliament President Roberta Metsola for appointing a new chief of staff after initially reporting her to an EU Ombudsman over alleged nepotism.
“It is good to see that, following criticism, Metsola has understood that she must give the example on nepotism. She has reversed her original intention and appointed Leticia Zulueta de Reales Ansaldo as her Chef de Cabinet. Her brother-in-law will therefore not be her head of staff. This is the right thing to do: setting the right example,” Cassola said.
Cassola’s statement comes after he sent a letter to EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly over claims that Metsola would be appointing a family member to her chief of staff role. The report comes after Italian media house Il Foglio as well as Malta’s MaltaToday stories to that effect.
“If this is true, even if it were legally acceptable, it would be very unethical to do so and would send out a very wrong signal to European voters, whose trust in the European Parliament has already been shaken because of Qatargate,” Cassola said in his letter to the EU Ombudsman.
Metsola’s team told Il Foglio that the appointment was “in line with both the spirit and the letter of the law” and that Metsola had every right to appoint whomever she trusted.
The response also including some cheeky jibes, including one line that said Metsola had “little influence on who falls in love with whom”.
What do you make of this new appointment?
READ NEXT: Lara Dimitrijevic Breaks Down Key Moments From A Milestone Year For Women's Rights In Malta
