Sergio Mattarella sworn in as new Italy president
Sergio Mattarella, a Sicilian constitutional court judge, has been sworn in as Italy’s new president after four rounds of voting in the country’s parliament.
During a Tuesday parliamentary ceremony, the 73-year-old was sworn in as the 12th Italian president since the European country became a republic after World War II.
Before Mattarella’s oath-taking ceremony, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi praised the new president for his fight against “injustices” and “the Mafia,” adding, “He has been a parliamentary member, a minister, and a judge of the Italian Constitutional Court; and chose once to resign for an ideal; an ideal is more worthy than any position of power.”
Mattarella has vowed to uproot corruption and organized crime.
On January 31, Mattarella received 665 votes from 1,009 lawmakers, gaining more than the 505 required to be elected as Italian president.
He has replaced 89-year-old Giorgio Napolitano, who resigned earlier this month citing fatigue.
A candidate of Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD), Mattarella’s win is viewed as a victory for the premier who has been pushing for urgent economic and institutional reforms.
Renzi had called on both his coalition and opposition parties to support Mattarella “for Italy’s common good.”
Mattarella is a respected figure with a parliamentary career of more than two decades. He has served as Italy’s deputy prime minister and minister of education and defense.
Seen as a foe of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, he resigned from his position as minister of education in 1989 over a controversial media law he viewed as favoring Berlusconi’s interests.
SZH/MKA/SS
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