A two-thirds majority is required for the first three ballots.
(Photo: imago images/ZUMA Wire)
Rome As expected, there was still no winner at the start of the presidential election in Italy. Because the major governing parties had decided in advance to cast white ballots without the names of candidates, no one achieved the two-thirds majority among MPs, senators and regional representatives that was necessary for an election. That became clear during the public counting of the individual voting cards by Roberto Fico, the chairman of the House of Representatives, on Monday evening.
During the public individual counting of the votes in the auditorium of the House of Representatives in Rome, Fico repeatedly read out “bianca”, i.e. white. In the end, more than 650 ballot papers were empty. Without a cross-camp candidate, it is almost impossible to get two thirds of the 1009 votes in the first three ballots. A similar scenario could unfold on Tuesday. From the fourth round of voting, which is expected to take place on Thursday, an absolute majority will then suffice.
Already on Monday, the leaders of the parties began intensive negotiations and the search for a common candidate who would be accepted as widely as possible. With the white voting cards they wanted to signal their readiness for dialogue. Among others, Matteo Salvini from the right-wing Lega and Enrico Letta as head of the Social Democrats met for a “long and cordial” exchange, according to the parties.
Pier Ferdinando Casini emerged as the favorite to succeed Sergio Mattarella. The former head of the House of Representatives was previously involved in the centre-right alliance of then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, but currently sits for the centre-left in the Senate, the second chamber of parliament. He is eligible for both political spectrums.
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Prime Minister Mario Draghi is also said to have a chance of holding the highest office in the state; He also held talks in this regard with influential politicians in Rome, as was heard on Monday. Should the former head of the European Central Bank become President, it would be unclear how the government will proceed. The legislative period of the current multi-party government runs until 2023.
Because of the consequences of the pandemic, special measures had been taken: only a certain number of voters were allowed into the auditorium of the House of Representatives at any one time. As an exception, the voters infected with the corona virus were able to leave the quarantine and go to the polls – instead of in the building, they had to hand in their voting cards in special tents in the parking lot in front of Parliament and drive away again immediately.
More: With Berlusconi, a political veteran has just withdrawn his candidacy for Italy’s presidency. Why the election could set the country back.