Maltese legislator elected European Parliament president

BRUSSELS (AP) — Roberta Metsola, a Christian Democratic politician from Malta, was elected president of the European Union’s parliament Tuesday, taking over for a 2½-year term following the death of Socialist David Sassoli last week.

Metsola is only the third woman elected to the post. Her birthday was Tuesday, and at age 43, she is the European Parliament's youngest president.

Sassoli, 65, had been sick for several months, and before his death the Italian politician declined to seek another term.

Metsola was the candidate of the parliament’s biggest group, and she received 458 of the 616 votes cast Tuesday. She had already been acting president since Sassoli’s Jan. 11 death.

She will lead an EU institution which has become more powerful over the years and been instrumental in charting the course of the 27-nation bloc on issues such as the digital economy, climate change and Brexit.

The European Parliament represents the EU’s 450 million citizens and refers to itself as “the heart of European democracy.”

Known as a committed bridge-builder between parties, Metsola said she would stick to Sassoli's style of work.

“David fought hard to bring people around the same table. It is that commitment to holding the constructive forces in Europe together that I will build on,” she said.

And she referred to giants of European post-war politics like German Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl and French Socialist Francois Mitterrand to overcome party divisions and give her guidance.

“My appeal is to rediscover the purpose of Kohl and Mitterrand and leave behind the entrenchment of the past as we look to the future,” she said.

The parliament has long been the lesser EU institution compared to the executive European Commission and the...