Applause broke out in Parliament when Mattarella received the necessary number of votes in the evening. According to the media, the swearing-in ceremony should take place on February 3rd. After being officially informed of the election result, Mattarella thanked him for the trust. In a brief statement, he said he was committed to “picking up on the expectations and hopes of our fellow citizens”. Under these circumstances he might not shirk his duties.
This was preceded by a day-long election thriller. Only following seven unsuccessful ballots did the representatives of the most important parties agree on Saturday to ask Mattarella to remain in office, contrary to his original plans. In the first three ballots, a two-thirds majority was required for the election of the President. In the four rounds of voting that followed, no candidate was able to prevail.
Draghi “grateful”
Prime Minister Mario Draghi welcomed Mattarella’s re-election: “This is good news for the Italians. I am grateful to the President for his decision to give in to Parliament’s strong will to re-elect him for a second term,” commented the former ECB President, who has been Prime Minister for almost a year. Numerous top politicians congratulated on Twitter on the election victory. “Happy work,” wished ex-government Matteo Renzi, among others.
Mattarella’s re-election was also welcomed internationally. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen congratulated his “dear and esteemed friend Sergio Mattarella” on his re-election in Italian via Twitter and wished him all the best for a successful second term.
Von der Leyen: “Italy can always rely on the EU”
“Italy can always rely on the EU,” wrote EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in a tweet, also in Italian. EU Council President Charles Michel said: “I am firmly convinced that Italy will continue to make a constructive contribution to EU growth.” EU Competition Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni spoke of an “excellent message of stability and responsibility” that Mattarella and Draghi were confirmed in office following a chaotic week.
French President Emmanuel Macron also congratulated his Italian counterpart: “I know that I can count on your commitment to ensure that the friendship between our countries and this united, strong and prosperous Europe that we are building lives on.”
Unsuccessful search for a successor
In the past few days, the political forces had looked in vain for a cross-camp personality who might inherit the head of state. The negotiations failed due to the efforts of the head of the right-wing ruling party Lega, Matteo Salvini, to push through his own candidate. With the decision to ask Mattarella to extend his mandate, the parties are banking on political stability.
Italy: Matarella remains President
For the whole week, the search for a new president in Italy has been unsuccessful. The government parties were unable to agree on a new candidate by Saturday. That is why the incumbent President, Sergio Mattarella, was persuaded to serve a second term – and was finally elected with a clear majority.
Since the two largest political blocs – the centre-right alliance around Lega leader Salvini and the centre-left bloc led by the Social Democrats (PD) – might not agree on a common candidate following several ballots, Prime Minister Draghi was considered the favourite for the post. However, Draghi’s move from prime minister to head of state would have created political instability. The fragile multi-party coalition that crowned Draghi as head of government almost a year ago would probably have collapsed without the unifying figure Draghi – a risk that the political forces in Rome did not want to take.
So far only Napolitano re-elected
The presidential term in Italy is seven years. The only Italian president to be re-elected before Matterella in Italy’s republican history was Giorgio Napolitano (2006-2015), who reluctantly agreed to remain in office as head of state following parliamentarians and regional representatives failed to agree on another successor in 2013 might. He resigned two years later at the age of 89. He was succeeded by Mattarella.
Important role in times of crisis
According to the Italian constitution, the head of state acts as a kind of arbiter of politics, a role that is particularly important in times of crisis. In his first term as head of state, Mattarella experienced turbulent phases: Five governments alternated during his seven-year term.
After the 2018 parliamentary elections, he had to negotiate with the parties for almost three months before a Lega and Five Star government was formed, led by the then unknown lawyer Giuseppe Conte. After Conte’s coalition collapsed in February, Mattarella lobbied for a multiparty government under former ECB President Draghi.
As president, Mattarella also played a crucial role in the pandemic. He repeatedly encouraged the Italians in the most dramatic phases of the pandemic in spring 2020 and called on the country to unite. He repeatedly visited the communities in Lombardy most affected by the pandemic. Most recently, Mattarella has repeatedly campaigned for the vaccination campaign.
