The parliament did not find a replacement for him, and the president of Italy was elected to a second term

The 80-year-old Sergio Matrella has already made plans, but was called to the flag after a week of secret ballots in parliament ended in a dead end.

"Great news for Italians," said Prime Minister Draghi, who himself hoped to win the job and the disagreements between his broader coalition members threaten its survival

Reuters

30/01/2022

Sunday, 30 January 2022, 11:52

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Called to the flag.

Italian President Materella in the Ministry of Justice, this month (Photo: Reuters)

Italian President Sergio Materella was re-elected to a second term yesterday (Saturday) after party leaders in parliament asked him to continue for another term after a tense week in which they failed to elect a replacement.

Party leaders thanked 80-year-old Materella for agreeing to stay, but failed attempts to replace him during seven rounds of voting undermined government stability. Nonetheless, financial markets are expected to respond positively to the continuation of the status quo, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who has made it clear he hopes to be president himself, continuing in office instead.

Draghi said in a statement that the re-election of Materella was "great news for the Italians", and thanked him for "his decision to go with the strong will of Parliament". Pope Francis sent Materella a greeting card.

During the eighth round of voting in parliament, loud and prolonged applause erupted as Materla passed the 505 mark needed for victory. The Italian presidential election is being held in secret among more than a thousand parliamentarians and regional representatives.

Materla has previously ruled out staying in office for another seven-year term, but due to concerns about the country's political stability he changed his mind in the face of appeals from parliamentary leaders who met him at his palace earlier yesterday. In the end, Materella received 759 votes, 94 more votes than he received when he was first elected in 2015 and the second highest number of votes ever. Only Sandro Partini, who served as president from 1978 to 1985, received more votes than Materella.

In a brief response from the presidential palace, Materella said that the ongoing corona crisis and the economic and social crisis in Italy require him to make the parliamentary decision. He said that although he already had other personal plans, he was "committed to meeting the expectations and hopes of the people."

Although the role is largely representative, the president of Italy has great influence in appointing prime ministers and is often called upon to resolve political crises.

The governments in Italy, the third largest economy in the eurozone, serve only about one year on average.

Failed to reach a compromise.

MPs applaud after election in Materella, last night (Photo: Reuters)

The center-left Democratic Party leader Enrico Letta, who supported Materella's re-election, told reporters he cherished "a huge thank you for his generous decision towards the state".

A political source said Draghi had earlier called Materella and begged him to stay in office.

Relations between the parties in the governing coalition deteriorated during the election process, against the background of mutual accusations of not finding a figure that was agreed upon by all.

Draghi's coalition includes the major center-left and center-right parties as well as the far-right "League" party, a five-star movement that was previously anti-establishment, and a variety of smaller parties.

"The overall political background has become at least supportive of Draghi's government, which faces a difficult task in the year ahead of the next general election," said Wolfango Piccoli, of the Tenao political risk consulting firm.

On the right, while both the "League" and the "Breakthrough Italy" party eventually supported the call for Materella to continue for another term, an ally of the "Italian Brothers" party - which is not part of the government - condemned the behind-the-scenes contacts.

"Parliament has shown it is unworthy of the Italians," party leader Georgia Maloney said in a statement.

She accused her allies of "bartering" the presidency to ensure the government's survival would remain until the end of the current parliamentary term in 2023.

She said the conservative bloc "needs to be rebuilt."

Letta, who has grown stronger following the past week, said that "the political landscape has changed".

Some commentators anticipate a delay in government changes in the near future.

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