There is no precedent for a Prime Minister elected President of the Republic, a circumstance that would occur with the eventual election of Mario Draghi.
A possibility that presents procedural difficulties on which jurists and constitutionalists have practiced.
If the electors choose the name of Mario Draghi for the Hill, he should hand over the mandate in the hands of the current head of state, Sergio Mattarella. When a premier resigns, he remains in office for current affairs, until the new government obtains the confidence of the Chamber; but this could not happen in this circumstance, because Draghi could not be both President of the Republic and outgoing premier. According to some jurists, after Draghi's resignation from Palazzo Chigi, the consultations for the birth of the new executive should be conducted immediately by Mattarella, who after the confidence obtained by the new government would resign to allow Draghi to settle in the Quirinale.
Many senior jurists have a different opinion, also because they observe that politically (and not juridically) it can be assumed that Mattarella would leave the task of consultations to his successor. Therefore, in the absence of a specific rule that applies to this situation, article 8 of the law that regulates the activity of the government would apply by extension (the 400 of 1988); this article provides, "in case of impediment" of the premier, the interim for the deputy premier or, when there is no such figure, for the minister with the oldest age, in the specific case Renato Brunetta.
The Brunetta government would therefore remain in office for current affairs, while Mattarella would resign with respect to the deadline of February 3, allowing Mario Draghi to settle on the Hill, who would start consultations for the new government.
