Roberta Metsola’s decision not to contest the Nationalist Party’s leadership is not simply a personal choice — it is a betrayal that thousands of Nationalists will neither forget nor forgive.
After years of crafting an image as the inevitable saviour of a floundering PN, the Queen of Wars has now decided that her cushy seat in Brussels is worth more than the party and people who elevated her to Europe’s highest table.
The excuse? That she cannot abandon her “current responsibilities” as President of the European Parliament. But what about the far greater responsibility she owes to those who gave her an unprecedented trust in the last European elections? To the party that desperately needed a unifier and a fighter, not another Brussels bureaucrat with nice words and empty promises?
The Nationalist Party bent backwards to keep the door wide open for someone who is not even a Member of Parliament in Malta. They did so because believing this was the one moment to rally around a single leader who could restore pride and purpose. And how did Metsola respond? By saying ‘No, thank you’.
After undermining Adrian Delia. After posing as the quiet alternative to Bernard Grech. After smiling for the cameras while the party crumbled. When the decisive moment came, Metsola did not choose the Nationalist Party.
Perhaps she chose her children’s stability in Brussels. Perhaps she chose the generous perks and security of a European post where you speak volumes yet decide very little. Perhaps she simply chose money over Malta.
Whatever the reason, the conclusion is the same: Metsola did not choose the PN. She abandoned it at its most fragile point, leaving behind confusion, bitterness, and a leadership vacuum that risks tearing the party into more fragments.
Nationalists will not forget this betrayal. Nor should they. It is a harsh reminder that loyalty cannot be taken for granted — not even from the so-called future of the party.
The party must now pick up the pieces and find a leader who actually wants to lead — not just pose for Brussels photo ops.
