Italy’s warring parties on Saturday prepared to beg outgoing President Sergio Mattarella to stay on for another term, fearing political chaos over a possible failure to pick his successor.
The 80-year-old, who has repeatedly ruled out serving again, won nearly 400 votes on the seventh ballot, with ruling coalition parties saying they had reached an agreement to elect him in the next round.
Mattarella must get 505 or more votes in the eighth ballot, which begins at 4:30 pm (15:30 GMT).
Italy’s presidency is largely ceremonial, but the head of state wields significant power during political crises, from dissolving parliament to electing new prime ministers to denying mandates to fragile coalitions.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi, a former head of the European Central Bank hired to run the government nearly a year ago, had been touted for months as the most eligible head of state.
But some parties have insisted he is too valuable a resource to lose as prime minister and many pundits have singled out the popular and reliable Mattarella as the best option after a string of failed votes.
“Let’s ask Mattarella to stay, so that the team stays the same, with Draghi at Palazzo Chigi,” Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right Liga party, said, referring to the prime minister’s office.
Salvini has found himself in a bind after proposing a candidate on Friday that failed.
Billionaire Silvio Berlusconi, who also failed for the presidency, also said his party would vote for Mattarella for another term.
“We know that we are asking him to make a great sacrifice, but we also know that we can ask him in the interest of the country,” Berlusconi said, adding that Mattarella was the only unifying name on the table.
It would not be the first time: in 2013, President Giorgio Napolitano was elected to stay, in an attempt to resolve the political impasse left by an inconclusive general election.
But Mattarella, who has made it clear he doesn’t want the job, may take some convincing.
Italian media reported Saturday that Draghi spent some time with him, pleading the country’s case.
Ideal for financial markets
Mattarella has already served a tumultuous seven-year term, where he has sought to be a unifying figure through five different governments and the devastation of the coronavirus.
The Sicilian, who was a little-known constitutional court judge when he was elected head of state by parliament in 2015, has been appreciated by parties across the political spectrum.
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said with “great joy” that the parties had an agreement to choose Mattarella.
The center-left Democratic Party (PD) also seemed ready, with Senator Andrea Marcucci tweeting: “This afternoon we are going to re-elect a great president. #Matarella”.
If Mattarella agrees to stay on, even if only for a year before the country reaches the 2023 general election, Draghi would be free to get on with Italy’s post-pandemic recovery.
Italy’s debt-laden economy has begun to revive, but it has almost 200 billion euros ($222 billion) in EU funds to consolidate the trend.
Brussels money depends on a tight schedule of reforms.
International investors have been watching the election closely, amid fears that the timetable could be scuttled.
“An extension of Mattarella’s mandate would be ideal for the financial markets,” Guido Cozzi, professor of macroeconomics at the University of St. Gallen, told AFP.
“Mario Draghi would remain in charge of the government… (and) EU funding flows and planned investments would be guaranteed for a delicate second year,” he said.