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Mattarella re-elected Italy's president to end political stalemate

Sunday, 30 January 2022 6:33 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 30 January 2022 6:33 AM ]

Max Civili
Press TV, Rome

After six days of failed votes and eight rounds of ballots, on Saturday the Italian parliament re-elected 80-year-old Sergio Mattarella as president of the Republic with 759 votes out of 983 cast by the grand electors.

In the days ahead of the election, Mattarella, who has been in office since 2015, had repeatedly said that he didn't want another stint. However, he changed his mind on Saturday afternoon, when the leaders of parliamentary groups resorted to him in a desperate attempt to put an end to a political impasse that would erode the nation's credibility.

The political stalemate was triggered by parties' disagreement over the candidacy of prime minister Draghi to be the next president earlier in the week. In the following days, parties struggled to reach an agreement over an alternative figure, dragging the country on the verge of a political crisis.

Commentators have slammed political leaders for their bickering over a consensus candidate. Some have said that political parties disregarded the political threat that would complicate the already-tense situation in a country reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Draghi is expected to reshuffle his cabinet, as his first move following Mattarella's election. He has to make sure that the 260 billion euros that Italy is receiving from the European Recovery Fund to counter the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis are spent effectively. Draghi has committed to 58 reforms and 132 investments over the next five years.

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