Italy's 80-year-old president wins vote to stay for 2nd term, says feels 'sense of duty'

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has been elected to a second seven-year term as the country's head of state, ending days of political impasse as party leaders struggled to pick his successor. Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that his re-election is "splendid news for Italians."

"I am grateful to the president for his decision to go along with the extremely strong will of parliament to re-elect him for a second term," Draghi said in a statement.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella, on the other hand, said upon his re-election in Rome that Italy's painstaking presidential election and the Covid-19 crisis demand a sense of responsibility and respect for parliament,
"These conditions force us not to shirk the duties that call," said Mattarella, who was given a second term on Saturday in an eighth round of voting, after a week of political dispute and back-room negotiations.
These must take priority above other considerations and personal views, Mattarella continued. He also spoke of an obligation to the "expectations and hopes of fellow citizens."

CONVINCED

Earlier on Saturday, lawmakers entreated Mattarella, 80, who had said he didn't want a second mandate, to change his mind and agree to reelection by lawmakers in Parliament and regional delegates. That move followed days of fruitless efforts by political leaders to reach a consensus on a candidate.

Mattarella won in the eighth round of voting when he clinched the minimum of 505 votes needed from the eligible 1,009 Grand Electors. Applause broke out in Parliament, prompting the Chamber of Deputies president to interrupt his reading aloud of the ballots. The count then resumed, with Mattarella continuing to mount in the count well past 670.

Mattarella's term ends Feb. 3. Ahead of the presidential election this week, Mattarella repeatedly said he doesn't want another stint. He even rented an apartment in Rome to prepare for his move from the presidential palace atop Quirinal Hill.

But after a seventh round of balloting in six days in Parliament failed to yield any consensus on a presidential candidate, party whips and regional governors visited Mattarella at the presidential palace to solicit his willingness Saturday.

Rai state TV said Premier Mario Draghi, a non-partisan former chief of the European Central Bank who is leading a pandemic unity government, telephoned party leaders to encourage the lobbying. Draghi had previously indicted he would be willing to move into the president's role, but some party leaders featured that would prompt an early election.

'CHOICE OF GENEROSITY'

Mattarella's willingness to serve again "is a choice of generosity toward the country,'' Democratic Party leader Enrico Letta told a news conference minutes before Saturday's second, conclusive round of voting began.

"You don't change a winning team,'' former Premier Matteo Renzi told reporters about the current leadership with Draghi, a reassuring figure to financial markets, and Mattarella as president.

A chorus of Italian politicians earlier Saturday called for Mattarella to reconsider.

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who heads the center-right Forza Italia party he founded, said that unity "today can only be found around the figure of President Sergio Mattarella, of whom we know we're asking a great sacrifice."

Health Minister Roberto Speranza, who heads a small left-wing party, told reporters that Mattarella's re-election would be crucial for context of stability for Italy.

The head of the populist 5-Star Movement, Parliament's largest force, former Premier Giuseppe Conte, told reporters "Mattarella is the guarantor of everybody, impartial, authoritative.''

Until 2013, no president had served a second term. Then, a similar political stalemate in several rounds of balloting ended when Giorgio Napolitano, a former Communist leader, agreed to accept a second mandate. Napolitano resigned in 2015, when he was nearly 90, clearing the way for the election that made Mattarella Italy's head of state.