Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s candidacy for the post is considered the most likely possibility, but it remains unclear whether the majority in the parties that support his coalition will approve it, given the fears that his leaving the post of prime minister could lead to an early general election.
The 85-year-old billionaire said he wanted former European Central Bank chief Draghi to remain at the helm of the government until the legislature’s term expires in 2023.
“I have decided to take another step on the road with national responsibility, asking those who proposed the matter to drop my name for the presidency,” Berlusconi said in a statement.
The right-wing coalition asked Berlusconi to run for president, but his success was unlikely due to difficulties in garnering the broad support traditionally required for the candidate among more than 1,000 members of parliament and delegates from the country’s provinces.
Berlusconi is a divisive figure in Italy, and the center-left parties have already ruled out his support.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank and since last year he has headed a government of national unity, is still the favorite presidential candidate.
A statement issued by Berlusconi’s spokesman quoted the former prime minister as saying, “I consider it necessary that the Draghi government continue its work until the end of its term,” as AFP reported.
In this way, he said, the government could implement reforms in the tax, judicial and public administration sectors it had pledged in return for billions of euros in funding from the European Union’s Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery Fund.
Berlusconi said he would seek with anti-immigration League leader Matteo Salvini and Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) Giorgia Meloni to agree on a name that could win “widespread consensus”.
It is worth noting that the position of President in Italy is largely ceremonial, but the President of the Italian Republic plays a major role in the event of a government crisis during his seven-year term.
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