SERGIO Mattarella was re-elected as the country’s president for a new seven-year term in the eighth round of voting in the Italian parliament, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
After days of stalemate, Italian party heads urged 80-year-old Mattarella to change his mind amid concerns that protracted political squabbling would erode the nation’s credibility.
He relented on Saturday afternoon, stating that he is at the country’s disposal.
In the run-up to the presidential election this week, Mattarella repeatedly said he did not want another stint.
He even rented an apartment in Rome to prepare for his move from the presidential palace atop the Quirinal Hill.
But after six days of balloting in the parliament by lawmakers and special regional representatives failed to yield any consensus on a presidential candidate, party whips and regional governors visited Mattarella at the presidential palace to solicit his willingness ahead of what could the decisive vote Saturday evening.
A chorus of Italian politicians publicly called for Mattarella to reconsider.
Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who heads the centre-right Forza Italia, said that unity “today can only be found around the figure of president Sergio Mattarella, of whom we know we’re asking a great sacrifice.”
Health minister Roberto Speranza, who heads a small left-wing party Articolo Uno, told reporters that Mattarella’s re-election would be crucial for “a context of stability for Italy”.
The head of the populist 5-Star Movement, Parliament’s largest force, former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, also joined in the pressing. “Mattarella is the guarantor of everybody, impartial, authoritative,” he told reporters.
A day after a candidate of the centre-right bloc fell far short of the necessary majority, right-wing leader Matteo Salvini of Lega Nord also said the 80-year-old Mattarella should reconsider his refusal of a second seven-year term.
Mattarella, a jurist who saw four different prime ministers serve during his term, seems to have relented, telling party chiefs that he is “at Italy’s disposal” right before Saturday evening’s vote.
Seven-round bickering
Round after round of fruitless balloting since Monday made plain the deep rivalries among the parties in Draghi’s wide-ranging coalition, formed practically a year ago to lead Italy through the pandemic and guide the economic recovery with the help of billions in promised European Union funds.
Rallying rivals or even allies to back one name for president has so far proven elusive.
In balloting on Friday evening, Mattarella still garnered the most votes by far, despite his oft-stated insistence in recent weeks that he considers he is done with the largely ceremonial role.
“We think that it isn’t serious any more to continue with ‘no’s’ and cross vetoes,” said Salvini, who heads the anti-migrant Lega and has ambitions to be the country’s next PM.
He said it was time to “tell the president to reconsider”.
Without citing sources, State TV’s RaiNews24 said Draghi was contacting various political leaders to rally behind Mattarella.
In the latest crack among allies, far-right Brothers of Italy head Giorgia Meloni quickly attacked Salvini’s lobbying for Mattarella.
“Salvini proposes that everybody goes to entreat Mattarella to have another term as president of the republic,” Meloni tweeted. ”I don’t want to believe it.”
As the only major party leader in the opposition, Meloni has indicated she’d be happy to see Draghi, whose successful intervention as European Central Bank president in saving the euro currency, become president.
That would free up the PM’s office and possibly create enough political instability to trigger the early elections she wants, but others want to avoid.
