Italy lawmakers vote for new president
ROME: Lawmakers cast ballots Thursday for a new Italian president in a vote testing Premier Matteo Renzi’s ability to rally his divided party behind his reform agenda and a single candidate who is also agreeable to ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi.
Polling was expected to last at least until Friday or Saturday since the threshold slips from a twothirds majority to a simple majority after three rounds of voting.
The Italian president is a largely ceremonial figure with no political role, but he has powers to dissolve Parliament, call new elections and tap a candidate to form a new government, thus playing a crucial role in resolving Italy’s notinfrequent political crises.
Two years ago, President Giorgio Napolitano reluctantly accepted an unprecedented second term after lawmakers couldn’t agree on a successor. Napolitano said at the time he wouldn’t complete the full seven-year term, and citing his age — 89 — he resigned earlier this month.
Several names have been mentioned as possible successors, with constitutional court judge Sergio Mattarella emerging Thursday as Renzi’s pick and someone enjoying broad support within his Democratic Party. It wasn’t clear if Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party — the second biggest bloc in Parliament — would sign off since Mattarella had some run-ins with the media mogul when he served in previous governments.
Other candidates include twotime Premier Giuliano Amato and longtime center-left lawmaker Anna Finocchiaro, who would be the first woman to hold the job.
One of Renzi’s chief goals is to overhaul the electoral system to make governments more stable. He has so far won support for the project from Berlusconi, and the two met this week to discuss possible presidential candidates.
Berlusconi won’t be on hand for the vote: He lost his Senate seat because of a tax-fraud conviction and must be in Milan on Friday to perform community service as his sentence.