A group of MEPs who are investigating Malta’s rule of law refused to entertain growing rumours that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is planning to run for the role of EU Council President.

Dutch MEP Sophia in’t Veld, from the ALDE political group, said the rumours merely give weight to her opinion that EU citizens, and not Prime Ministers, should get to elect Donald Tusk’s successor.

“It should be the European people who get to choose the leader and not Prime Ministers engaging in all horse-trading,” she said in response to a question by Lovin Malta. “Come on, this is 2018 and people are clamouring for more democracy.”

German MEP Sven Giegold, from the Greens, said he is not interested “in this game as to which party holds which position and all the spinning behind it”.

Indeed, he linked the very question to his concerns about the amount of “political spinning” that the Maltese media engages in.

“Rather than political spin, we should be discussing substance. The rule of law and financial sustainability should go beyond party politics.”

His compatriot Josef Wiedenholzer refused to entertain the question at all, on the grounds that the selection of the EU Council president is not within his remit as MEP.

Meanwhile, PN MEP Roberta Metsola, from the EPP group, used the occasion to aim a dig at Muscat.

“No one seems to be talking about this apart from Joseph Muscat himself,” she said.

Should Joseph Muscat run for the position of EU Council president?

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]