Italy - Election - 2022 President
The Italian Republic is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a bicameral parliament consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The constitution vests executive authority in the Council of Ministers, headed by a prime minister whose official title is president of the Council of Ministers. The president of the republic is the head of state and nominates the prime minister after consulting with political party leaders in parliament.
Although the position is largely ceremonial, in Italy the president plays a key role in resolving political impasses, which aren't uncommon in the southern European country. Italy's new head of state, who will replace the outgoing Sergio Mattarella, would be chosen by 1,000 lawmakers. The new president will be elected by 321 senators, 630 deputies and 58 regional representatives. In the first three rounds of voting, each of which will take a day, the winning candidate must secure two-thirds of the vote. From the fourth round, they only need an absolute majority.
Italy's parliament started voting on 24 January 2022 for a new president, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi widely expected to take over despite the risk of destabilising the country's post-pandemic recovery. The President of the Republic is elected by parliament and is the Head of State, representing national unity, whereas the prime minister is the head of the Executive, the centre of the government’s actions. The prime minister is therefore vested with the power to direct the entire government team.
A coalition of right-wing parties is rallying behind the controversial figure, media mogul and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to become Italy's next head of state. "The leaders of the coalition have agreed that Silvio Berlusconi is the right person to hold this high office at these difficult times," heads of Italy's center-right parties said in a joint statement after a meeting at Berlusconi's villa in Rome.
On 13 January 2022, rightist League party leader Matteo Salvini said the center-right coalition "is firm and unanimous in its support for Berlusconi." In addition to the League, the center-right coalition includes the far-right Brothers of Italy and Berlusconi's own Forza Italia party.
But, given his scandal-filled career, few political analysts see Berlusconi as a serious contender. The 85-year-old media mogul served as Italy's prime minister in three governments: 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. During three decades in politics, Berlusconi faced continuous legal problems, including legal action over the infamous "bunga bunga" sex parties.
The populist 5-Star Movement, which has the largest number of parliamentarians, strongly opposes Berlusconi. "Today it is necessary to put aside party affiliation, all the political forces must converge on a figure who can represent Italians and the country," said 5-Star Vice President Mario Turco.
Neither of the two main blocs in the Italian parliament, the anti-system 5-Star Movement and the center-left Democratic Party (PD), has a majority to ram through a candidate for president.
The center-left Democratic Party expressed strong support for a presidential bid from Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Draghi said at his end-of-the-year news conference that he had accomplished what he set out to do, indicating his availability to move into the presidential Quirinale Palace. Under Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, Italy's economy turned a corner. He led a remarkably united government, comprised of almost all of Italy's political parties. He is seen as a political figure who can send a signal of continued Italian stability and credibility.
Although allied right-wing parties support Berlusconi, they would also benefit if Draghi left the premiership early as it would trigger an early election. But Salvini earlier admitted that without Draghi as prime minister, it would be hard to keep afloat the broad national unity coalition.
Most Italian citizens do not want to see either Silvio Berlusconi or Prime Minister Mario Draghi as the country's new president. Such data are provided by the EMG poll on 21 January 2022, according to the portal Termometro Politico. According to the latest polls, Italians give their preference to the current President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella - 25%. However, unfortunately for them, Mattarella had already withdrawn from the election. He is followed by incumbent Prime Minister Mario Draghi with a score of 17%, although just a week ago he was ready to be chosen by 21% of those polled. Silvio Berlusconi's support also fell, from 16% to 14%. This is followed by Letizia Moratti with 6%, Minister of Justice Marta Kartabiya with 8%. Recall that Mattarella's mandate ends in February 2022.
Berlusconi announced 22 January 2022 he will not run for Italy's presidency, ending his improbable candidacy two days before voting begins in parliament. The 85-year-old had been campaigning behind the scenes for weeks to replace outgoing President Sergio Mattarella, although few analysts believed he had enough support to win. In a statement as he held a virtual meeting with fellow right-wing leaders, Berlusconi insisted he had the numbers, but in the spirit of "national responsibility", said he had asked those who put forward his name to withdraw it. Berlusconi said he would work with Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigration League party and Giorgia Meloni of the far-right Brothers of Italy to agree a name that can find "broad consensus".
Italian lawmakers failed 27 January 2022 to elect a new president in a third round of voting, as bickering party leaders blamed each other for pushing the country towards a political crisis. Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who was the frontrunner for the post ahead of the election, pocketed just five votes as parties panicked at the idea of pulling him from his job. Political analysts have warned that moving the former European Central Bank head to the presidential palace could deal a fatal blow to an already weak ruling coalition, sparking snap elections. Outgoing 80-year-old president Sergio Mattarella - who had repeatedly ruled out serving a second term - won the most votes, with 125 ballots.
An overwhelming majority of Italian lawmakers voted on 29 January 2022 for President Sergio Mattarella to serve another seven-year term, despite the veteran politician previously saying he was not interested. The vote followed days of quarreling in the Italian Parliament and several failed voteson Mattarella's potential successors. To try and end the standoff, Prime Minister Mario Draghi spoke to Mattarella and requested that he remain in office "for the good and stability of the country," local media reported.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella did not accept the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, international media reported 14 July 2022. In particular, Mattarelli asked Draghi to address the parliament in order to get a "clear picture" of the political situation. Shortly before that, the Italian prime minister announced his intention to leave his post. Draghi cited the refusal of the "Five Star Movement" - one of the parties of the ruling coalition - to take part in the vote in the senate on the confidence of the government. With this, they formally marked their withdrawal from the parliamentary majority. A vote was held in the Italian Senate - the upper house of the parliament - at which parliamentarians confirmed the confidence of the government led by Draghi. 172 senators voted "for" the vote of confidence, 39 opposed. "Five Star Movement" did not participate in the voting.
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