In a damning piece for The Times of Malta, veteran constitutional lawyer Dr Paul Borg Olivier tore apart the excuse that Roberta Metsola couldn’t lead the Nationalist Party because of the Maltese constitution. His verdict was unambiguous: the constitution posed no real obstacle – Metsola herself did.
“Based on past constitutional interpretation and practice, Metsola could have accepted the PN leadership while renouncing a seat in Malta’s parliament and retaining her post in Brussels.”
— Dr Paul Borg Olivier, The Times of Malta
In other words: when push came to shove, Metsola chose Brussels comfort over local courage.
Pawlu Borg Olivier
History Proves Her Excuses Are Hollow
The constitution is not some rigid prison cell — it’s a living instrument. Presidents before have stretched it wisely to keep Malta’s political machinery running:
- 2008: Alfred Sant resigned as Labour leader but stayed on as Opposition Leader until his parliamentary exit — thanks to presidential interpretation.
- 2008 again: When no party leader was left in Opposition, President Eddie Fenech Adami used Article 90(4) to appoint Charles Mangion, ensuring constitutional continuity.
- 2020: President George Vella kept Adrian Delia as Opposition Leader despite an internal coup — again, showing presidential discretion trumps petty infighting.
Today, Bernard Grech’s resignation opened the same door. But Metsola refused to walk through it. Instead, she fed Nationalists sweet promises of “hope” and “renewal” while never planning to do the dirty work.
Her Half-Baked Plan: Remote Control and a Puppet
Metsola’s real scheme was simple but rotten: lead the PN from an EU office, install a viceroy in the Opposition benches, and pretend she could wear both crowns. Even Manfred Weber, the EPP president, had to remind her publicly that it doesn’t work like that — either lead at home or stay in Europe.
She chose Europe
Compare this to Donald Tusk, who didn’t hide in Brussels: he dropped his European power and stormed back into Polish politics, dragged his party from the ashes, and won. Metsola flinched.
The Harsh Truth for Every Nationalist
Roberta Metsola’s great betrayal leaves the PN stranded and humiliated. While Robert Abela locks in Labour’s dominance, Nationalists are forced to realise they were played — led up the garden path by someone who always preferred Brussels photo-ops over a real fight in Valletta.
The constitution was never the problem. Metsola’s cowardice was.
No Constitution Stops a Leader — Only a Pretender Does
So next time Roberta Metsola lands in Malta to lecture about “hope” and “duty”, ask her this: Where was that duty when your party needed a leader?
