Presidential election in Italy
Draghi’s chances are falling
01/25/2022, 11:18 p.m
Who will succeed the outgoing Italian President Sergio Mattarella? The current Prime Minister Draghi is said to have the best chances. The 74-year-old is considered a guarantor of stability. But he still cannot unite a majority behind him.
In Italy, a difficult election of the new president is on the horizon. No new head of state could be elected in the second ballot on Tuesday either, as no candidate achieved the necessary two-thirds majority. However, the prospects of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who had previously been considered the favourite, clouded over. The reason: Leading politicians are in favor of Draghi remaining head of government in view of the corona pandemic.
It is also feared that the coalition supporting Draghi could collapse after the former head of the ECB moved to the presidency, triggering early elections. On Wednesday there will be a new – the third – secret ballot in the electoral body, which includes 1008 parliamentarians and regional representatives. In the first three ballots, the two-thirds majority applies, in further ballots from Thursday an absolute majority is sufficient for the election victory. Only then is a successful election expected.
Should Draghi prevail, a new head of government would have to be found immediately to prevent the third-largest economy in the euro zone from falling back into political uncertainty. Draghi currently leads a national unity government. However, he has expressed an interest in succeeding President Sergio Mattarella.
In addition to Draghi, various other prominent politicians are considered contenders for the post. Officially, no one is listed as a candidate. In the run-up to and between individual elections, it is explored who could get sufficient support. Since neither the center-right nor the center-left camp currently have enough votes to push through a representative from their ranks on their own, it is considered likely that an agreement on a president will be reached on Thursday at the earliest.
In Italy, the head of state is responsible, among other things, for mediating political crises and bringing about a solution. In a country where governments only last about a year on average, this is a key function. The president has the final say in nominating the prime minister, and he also appoints other members of the cabinet.