The leaders of the centre-left parties met for the first time on Wednesday under the direction of Social Democrat leader Enrico Letta. The Five Star Movement, the strongest single party in parliament, wants to boycott former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s candidacy.
Convicted media tycoon to become right-wing candidate
Letta and the five-star boss, former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, discussed the political situation for two hours. However, a name of a common centre-left candidate did not leak out. The Five Star Movement, the strongest single party in Parliament in Rome, reiterated its veto against Berlusconi. If the 85-year-old media tycoon does officially run as a centre-right candidate, the five-star MPs want to boycott the first three rounds by staying away from voting in the plenary chamber. Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in prison in 2013 for tax evasion.
“We will hold talks with the centre-right alliance over the next few days and work together to secure Italy a prestigious president,” Letta said after the meeting. He spoke out in favor of Mario Draghi remaining as prime minister. “The parties must protect Draghi because he is an essential resource for the country,” said the Socialist leader.
On January 24, the election of the new Italian head of state begins, in which 1,009 voters take part. These are the 630 deputies, the 315 elected senators, six senators for life and 58 representatives of the 20 Italian regions. The election by secret ballot could drag on for several days.
Berlusconi has been put forward as a possible candidate in recent weeks, but it is questionable whether he has the necessary support in parliament. Draghi could win election on the first ballot, but the parties are in favor of him remaining in the saddle as prime minister until the end of the 2013 legislature.
A two-thirds majority is required for the first two ballots. After that, a simple majority is sufficient. The most protracted election so far was that of Giovanni Leone in 1971, in which there were 23 ballots.
Source: Nachrichten
