Italians are trying to elect a new President. Since Monday, there have been four inconclusive votes.
Why is it so difficult to choose the president of Italy?
Italy has a complicated presidential election system. It is not the voters who choose, as happens in Brazil, but rather an electoral college of just over a thousand people – more precisely, 1.008 – who are the so-called “big voters” (there were 1.009, but one died recently).
They are basically the senators and deputies, as well as 58 delegates from 20 Italian regions.
The difficulty begins with the fact that there are no designated candidates to start the match – the vote, which is secret, can be for any Italian citizen over 50 years old. Therefore, the most varied names appear.
But could it be, for example, Andrea Bocelli?
Of course. In fact, over the years, names such as actress Sophia Loren, striker Francesco Totti and even a Mafia boss.
Basically, everyone votes for whoever they want and, to make things even more complicated, a two-thirds majority is needed in the first three votes to elect the president, which makes it highly unlikely that anyone will be able to be elected in the first rounds. .
Has an Italian President ever been elected in the first vote?
Yes, there have been three occasions in which he was elected on the first one. But this was only possible because the main parties previously reached an agreement to choose the president, which in most cases does not happen.
What is more common is that the president is only elected after the fourth round of voting, because then an absolute majority becomes sufficient, that is, more than half of the votes. This is what happened, for example, with the current president, Sergio Mattarella.
And there is no limit?
No, the votes only end when someone achieves an absolute majority. The longest election was in 1971, when it took 23 rounds to elect a president. But, in 1992, it was necessary to vote 16 times to elect Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.
And this time, many votes are needed?
This is always possible, but what is expected is that, from this Thursday, the scenario will become clearer, given that the fourth round took place, from which an absolute majority is sufficient.
And the parties save the names of the strongest candidates for this phase. It would not be excluded that, in one of the next votes, “white smoke".
Like the election of the Pope…
Yes, but in this case there is really no smoke, even if the rest is in the style of the Pope's election. And, incidentally, the official residence of the Italian President, the Quirinale Palace, was also the papal residence, so that's where the inspiration comes from.
Who is identified as the most likely candidate?
The strongest candidate is the current prime minister, Mario Draghi, who was also president of the European Central Bank and is a very prestigious figure, who gave political and economic stability to Italy.
However, if he leaves the leadership of the Government, a new problem opens up, which is finding another prime minister in a very fragmented party framework and where consensus is extremely complicated.
And the current President cannot be re-elected?
He could, if he wanted, but Sergio Mattarella is also 80 years old and has assured that he wants to retire.
Despite this, in the voting on Wednesday and today, it was he who received the most votes – 166 in total. And there are those who say that, in the event of an impasse, it could even be Mattarella who remains in office, even if he does not fulfill his mandate to the end. We have to wait and see.
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