Italian parties have called on President Mattarella to step down after the chaos of the vote

By Crispian Balmer, Giuseppe Fonte and Angelo Amante

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s party has asked Sergio Mattarella to run for president for a second term after failing to find a candidate for a deal in the often-voted week of parliamentary elections on Saturday.

Mattarella, 80, has always refused to remain in office and did not comment immediately, but as the country’s political stability is in jeopardy, he will find it very difficult to withstand the pressure.

“The Italians don’t deserve any more days of turmoil,” said Matteo Salvini, the leader of the right-wing party, urging Mattarella to “make a sacrifice” for the good of the country.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who could not find support for his work intentions, called Mattarella on Saturday and asked him to continue, a political source said.

This is the second time in a row that a president has been asked to renew his seven-year term. In 2013, political leaders handed the cap to incumbent Giorgio Napolitano, who also failed to find a candidate for consensus.

Napolitano reluctantly agreed, but resigned two years later after establishing a new government, paving the way for Mattarella.

As expected, if Mattarella accepts the second term, he too will almost certainly resign when the political situation allows, as speculated by the comments.

Efforts to replace him have left deep scars on the parties and their leaders, who are particularly troubled by the center-right alliance after losing some form of unity in the last 24 hours.

While Salvini’s League and Forza Italia seized the opportunity to maintain the status quo, allies of the Italian Brethren, who had not joined them in the governing coalition, denounced the backward maneuvers.

“Once again, parliament has shown that it is not right for Italians,” said Italian Brotherhood leader Giorgia Meloni, who blamed his allies for “exchanging” the presidency to ensure the government continues to do so until the end of the 2023 legislature.

IMPACT ROLE

The stakes have been high. The president of Italy is a strong figure who manages to nominate the prime minister, and is often called upon to resolve the eurozone’s third largest economic crisis, with governments surviving an average of about a year.

Unlike in the United States or France, where heads of state are elected by popular vote, in Italy, 1,009 parliamentarians and regional representatives were elected by secret ballot https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-presidential-hidden-election-hidden-parliament- secret-2022-01-13 that party leaders sometimes struggle to control.

With the threat of taking responsibility for the situation, lawmakers voted in favor of Mattarella in a daily vote, which rose to 387 on Saturday from 125 on Wednesday.

A successful candidate needs 505 votes to win. A new vote is scheduled to take place later on Saturday, which is likely to be decisive.

Repeated failure to reach a consensus has poisoned the political climate, which could have dangerous consequences for the stability of the coalition government.

Draghi himself has made it clear that he would like the presidency, but the main parties have refused to name him, fearing in part that violent changes in roles could lead to the implosion of a fragile government.