Stability at the top of the Italian state is assured. Italian President Sergio Mattarella was re-elected on Saturday evening following a parliamentary marathon that exposed the deep divisions between the parties in government at a pivotal moment for the post-Covid recovery.
White smoke at the Quirinale, the presidential palace in Rome: “Habemus papam”, launched a senator following the agreement on the name of Mattarella announced between the parties who feared an institutional and political crisis if they did not find a successor.
At 80, President Mattarella had repeated that he did not intend to continue in office, but during the day he made known to the heads of parliamentary groups his desire to make himself “available”. Such a scenario ensures stability at the top of the state by maintaining Mario Draghi, a favorite at a given time, at the head of the government, in a country in the process of economic recovery.
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“Congratulations, dear Sergio, on your re-election,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted. “I know I can count on your commitment to keep the friendship between our countries alive, as well as this united, strong and prosperous Europe that we are building.”
Hailing “a friend who understands the importance of Europe”, German President Frank Walter Steinmeier observed: “Europe needs a strong Italy and Italy will keep a forward-looking president with you. , which is not afraid of candor, unites and offers direction”. Mario Draghi hailed in a statement “wonderful news for Italians”.
Acclaimed, Sergio Mattarella won 759 votes out of 1009 senators, deputies and regional officials called to vote. The elected officials present in the hemicycle of the Chamber of Deputies where the counting was held applauded the results for a long time.
Draghi more useful to the government
The parties of Mario Draghi’s coalition government failed to agree on a common alternative candidacy in the first seven rounds of voting held since January 24 and therefore turned to the Italian lawyer to make him agree to re-election and save the executive from implosion.
If the former head of the European Central Bank was a favorite before the election, parliamentarians feared that his departure from the executive would explode the coalition and cause early elections before the end of the legislature scheduled for 2023.
The departure of Mario Draghi would also have weakened the recovery of the third economy in the euro zone and the implementation of the reforms necessary to benefit from the tens of billions of euros from the European post-Covid recovery plan, of which Italy is the primary beneficiary.
For Guido Cozzi, economist at the University of St. Gallen, “an extension of the mandate of Mr. Mattarella is ideal for the financial markets”. And with Mario Draghi at the helm of the executive, the injection of European funds and the planned investments are “guaranteed for a second year in a row”, he explained.
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According to the press, Mario Draghi met the head of state at length on Saturday to try to convince him to accept a new mandate “for the good and the stability of the country”. Nothing prevented Sergio Mattarella from refusing, constitutional law expert Gaetano Azzariti told AFP. And if he is elected for a new term of seven years, he can of course resign when he sees fit.
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