Status: 01/28/2022 10:37 p.m
Even in the sixth round of voting, Italy failed to find a new president. The incumbent President Mattarella clearly missed the absolute majority. Disagreements grow between the parties.
After the sixth ballot, Italy is still looking for a new head of state. The 1009 parliamentarians and regional representatives could not agree on one of the candidates for the highest office in the republic. With 336 votes, incumbent President Sergio Mattarella clearly missed the necessary absolute majority of 505 votes. 445 MPs abstained, 106 had cast blank ballots.
In the previous fifth ballot, the incumbent President of the Senate, Maria Casellati, received 382 votes – however, arithmetically around 60 voters from the Forza Italia politician’s own camp had refused their support.
Among others, the right-wing Lega led by ex-Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia spoke out in favor of her before the election.
Centre-right relies on own candidate
The centre-right alliance dared a political showdown in the morning with Casellati’s candidacy. Missing the commitments of the past few days to a joint cross-party proposal, the alliance with Lega boss Salvini surprisingly relied on its own candidate. Salvini praised Casellati as an “institutional candidate” who did not split. He also emphasized that the 75-year-old was a proposal for a woman in the highest office.
Strong criticism from centre-left
The parties of the centre-left alliance, on the other hand, criticize the right-wing go it alone and reject Casellati. They accuse the Senate President of being too politically close to Berlusconi. The former leader of the Social Democrats, Piero Fassino, spoke of a “severe defeat” for Salvini and the centre-right alliance in view of Casellati’s failure. Should Salvini continue to insist on going it alone, this would also endanger the current grand coalition under Mario Draghi.
In the elections of the past four days, the majority of the 1,009 electors abstained because there was no joint proposal from the parties on the table. What makes the election of a successor to the outgoing President Sergio Mattarella so difficult: no political camp has its own majority in the election assembly. Potential candidates have so far been prevented by mutual vetoes.
Meanwhile, dissatisfaction is growing between the parties. The party leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia complained that it was impossible to decide anything with this parliament. The opposition politician spoke out in favor of the people electing the head of state.
Lega, Five-Star and Social Democrats meet
In the evening, the party leaders of the Lega, the Social Democrats and the Five Star Movement met. Together they combine a sizeable portion of the voices behind them. After the meeting, Lega boss Salvini spoke out in favor of a “capable woman” as president, without being specific. Five-star boss Conte also said he was hoping for a female president.
The next, then seventh ballot is scheduled to begin on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
With information from Jörg Seisselberg, ARD Studio Rome