Via the Associated Press

Italy – all for that. Six days after the start of the vote and the eight ballots, the Italian president Sergio Matterla He was re-elected after a marathon on Saturday, January 29th Parliamentary This exposed the deep divisions between the parties to the government in the crucial period after the recovery-Covid.

At the age of 80, Sergio Matterella, whose term ended on February 3, was re-elected for a second seven-year term with an absolute majority of 505 votes from the 1,009 senators, deputies and local officials who were called to vote in this eighth round (president). Two-thirds of the votes in the first three rounds are not cast until a majority is obtained later. Overall, he received 759 votes, a score of 75.2%.

But he has repeatedly stated that he does not intend to continue in his activities. But in the midst of the day and obstacles, he told the heads of the parliamentary groups who came to see him that he would “make available” if elected. Mattarella was a professor of constitutional law. He has often said that the constitution does not provide for re-election. Even if a president had been re-elected earlier, it would have been unusual, “he said Huffpost Just before the election, Mark Lazarus, a specialist in Italian politics.

Therefore, Sergio Matterella is the second Italian president to be re-elected for a second term since Giorgio Napolitano in 2013. Maintaining this situation, which experts, including Mark Lazar, consider to be minimal but not impossible, ensures stability at the top of the state. Mario DraghiOnce beloved, at the head of government, in a country in the process of economic recovery.

Almost a ceremonial place

“Congratulations, dear Sergio, on your re-election,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted. “I know I can trust your commitment to keep the friendship between our nations active, as well as this united, strong and prosperous Europe that we are building.” Mario Draghi hailed it as “wonderful news for the Italians” in a press release.

Dear Sergio, Congratulations on your re-election. I know I can trust your commitment to keep the friendship between our nations active, as well as this united, strong and prosperous Europe that we are building. https://t.co/wR74erwFMT

– Emmanuel Macron (Emmanuel Macron) January 29, 2022

The presidency in Italy is more or less formal, but it plays an important role in the context of a political crisis in a country where the political landscape is very fragmented. He has the power to dissolve parliament and appoint a prime minister, who can overthrow allies he considers too weak to rule.

The election of Sergio Materella’s successor lasted until the beginning of the week, in the absence of a name in parliament, which has no left or right majority.

Although all political parties represented in parliament, with the exception of the far-right Fratelli de Italia, are part of an alliance supporting Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government, the right, left and 5 star movements have not failed. To reach a consensus.

In the fifth round, the right-wing parties (League, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forsa Italia, Fratelli de Italia) put forward the candidacy of the incumbent Senate President Elizabeth Castelli, and the government decided to leave Silvio Berlusconi, Magnet’s loyalist and former leader, on the left. But the 75-year-old anti-abortion Catholic received only 382 of the 453 votes she could theoretically get in her own camp.

Mario Draghi, in favor

Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, was a favorite for the presidency before the election, but many parliamentarians are reluctant to vote for him, fearing his departure from the government would destabilize the executive to an early stage. Elections before the end of the Assembly scheduled for 2023.

His departure will weaken the recovery of the Third Economy in the Eurozone and the implementation of the reforms needed to benefit from the tens of thousands of euros from the European post-Covid recovery plan, of which Italy will be the first beneficiary.

“We can ask you to stay in Matterella, to stay on the same team, with Draghi,” at the government level, which began on Saturday. Matteo Salvini, Leader of the far-right party La Ligu. Silvio Berlusconi, who ran as a candidate but lost, said his party was ready to vote for Sergio Materella.

However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Sergio Materella’s second term in office. “The year that separates us from the election is a recurrence of the anarchy we have seen in recent days. There are no myths: Matterella’s task will be more complicated than we can imagine, “the Left-Left daily warned on Saturday. Republic.

See also The HuffPost: “Lord of the Rings”: This excitement lives on like a hobby in his village in Italy