LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Labour Party received the highest number of first-count votes in the European Parliament election, but its celebrations were subdued as the Nationalist Party registered strong gains among the electorate.
The Nationalist Party claimed that the gap between the two parties has been slashed to around 13,500 votes from nearly 43,000 in 2019, insisting that it has obtained its best-ever result in EP elections since Malta joined the EU in 2004. This also means that the Labour Party has lost its fourth, out of six seats, at the European Parliament, at the gain of the Nationalist Party. Labour leader Robert Abela said it was a “solid” victory, but voters had sent the party an “important message”. Nationalist leader Bernard Grech said it was his party’s “best” showing in the European Parliament elections. Grech who was speaking on the party’s TV station, said that he is “satisfied” with the PN’s best-ever result in European elections and showed that the people increasingly distrust Labour’s politics and embracing the PN. “The PN is moving forward, with caution and calm, because people are understating that only the PN can offer solid leadership,” he said. Political observers said that the sharp decrease in the gap between the two largest parties would send worrying signs to the party in government, not least since it will continue to face the fallout of various scandals, not least the state hospitals concession which has led to the arraignment of its former leader, prime minister Robert Abela’s predecessor Joseph Muscat. For the Nationalist Party, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will return to the EP with a huge number of votes, with sources saying she is on course to win two quotas.
Voter turnout in the 2024 European Parliament elections has been 72.82% nationwide. Turnout for local council elections was significantly lower, at 59.47%.(ITALPRESS).
Foto: Net News
