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The parties agreed to resume the traditional double daily voting days to speed up the process where the next Head of State will be defined. After four scrutiny without resolution, there is optimism that today is the final day. The current president Sergio Mattarella, who rejects a re-election, was the most voted for the second consecutive day; while on the right they trust that the president of the Senate, María Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, will be the successor.
The hours of uncertainty continue in Italy after four consecutive days without Parliament reaching a consensus to elect a new president. As of the fifth day that will begin this Friday, the chamber parties agreed to resume the traditional two daily votes, something that had been suspended due to anti-covid measures. The intention is to accelerate the process until defining the successor of Sergio Mattarella.
The Chamber of Deputies, the seat where the ballots are held, announced that voting will take place on Friday at 10:00 am (GMT) and at 4:00 pm; while, if they continue without resolution, on Saturday they will start at 9:30 and 16:30.
For the fifth attempt, the heads of the blocs showed greater optimism to once and for all define a candidate who would achieve greater acceptance. “I am sure that Friday will be the winning day,” said right-wing leader Matteo Salvini. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, a leader of the centrist Viva Italia party, also agreed that they hope to close the week with a new president.
The actions of Mattarella, the current Head of State and who has already been in office for seven years, have increased in recent hours, despite the fact that he ruled out the possibility of seeking re-election. On Wednesday and Thursday he was the most elected with 166 votes, but still far from the 505 necessary.
The absence of another name of weight that according to the majority, his experience in command and his ability to resolve the political crises that have fallen on Italian soil regularly make him a natural candidate. Against him appears, neither more nor less, his own reluctance to continue as president.
For his part, the current premier Mario Draghi also emerges as a possibility. However, in contrast to Mattarella, with the passing of the week the support of the deputies became more meager and they are not completely convinced of removing him from his position as Prime Minister.
For this fifth attempt, the coalition made up of the conservatives and far-rightists have decided to promote the president of the Senate, María Elisabetta Alberta Casellati. This block does not reach the required floor, but it would be less than a hundred votes to achieve it.
The center-right justifies the election in the “sense of responsibility” of offering the position to the second most important position in the State since it would be “a historical turning point” since it is a woman. Giorgia Meloni, leader of ‘Brothers of Italy’ assured that “they have the numbers” to win and that “the proposal is not divisive. “It is the most institutional and least political,” she asserted.
Casellati is rejected by the progressive formation, who consider that “electing the second position of the State is unacceptable and never seen in the Republic.” However, the leftists lack a proper name to propose, despite the fact that they claim to have it under lock and key and discover it in the afternoon session, when the consensus on Casellati is defined.
WITH EFE AND REUTERS
