Italy again fails to elect president in fourth vote as parties buy time

The fourth round of Italy's presidential elections flopped before it began on Thursday, with parties unwilling to risk a crisis by picking Prime Minister Mario Draghi, but unable to agree on an alternative candidate.

Published: 27 January 2022 14:15 CET

Italy's current Prime Minister Mario Draghi is a frontrunner for this presidency, but his election risks destabilising the country. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

The right-wing bloc abstained and the centre-left cast blank ballots in the parliamentary vote, prolonging the uncertainty over the leadership of the eurozone’s third-largest economy.

After four days of voting, Italians had hoped for a breakthrough on Thursday when the threshold for victory falls from a two-thirds majority of the electoral college to an absolute majority.

Leaders suggested a deal might be found by a fifth round on Friday.

Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief who has led Italy’s national unity government since February 2021, was the frontrunner going into the contest.

But concerns his departure would destabilise the coalition, threatening a tight reform programme on which EU recovery funds depend and risking snap elections, have persisted over days of intensive backroom talks.

Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigration League party, part of the right-wing bloc, insisted on Thursday that Draghi was “precious there, where he is now”.

The president is a ceremonial figure, but wields great power during political crises – frequent events in Italy, which has had dozens of different governments since World War II.

Without formal agreement between the parties, lawmakers are effectively refusing to vote – in each round so far, most ballots have been left blank.

Meanwhile, the list of potential alternatives to Draghi changes daily, from ex-premiers to judges and even Italy’s spy chief, Elisabetta Belloni.

Former Chamber of Deputies speaker Pier Ferdinando Casini and Senate speaker Elisabetta Casellati – who would be the first female president – are considered to be in with a chance.

‘Divided’

Draghi has led a remarkably united government for the past 11 months, overseeing the economic recovery after a punishing pandemic-induced recession.

Many want him to stay to oversee major reforms to the tax and justice systems and public administration demanded in exchange for almost 200 billion euros ($225 billion) worth of funds from the EU’s post-virus recovery scheme.

But with parties already campaigning for the 2023 general election, many analysts believe he will find it increasingly difficult to get things done.

Former senate speaker Renato Schifani said it was “the first time I’ve seen parliament so divided”.

Some even raise the possibility that Draghi could tire of the politicking and resign as premier.

“If parties try to force the situation and elect another president with the support of only one side of the current national unity government, they risk Draghi’s resignation and snap elections,” said Lorenzo Codogno, a former head economist at the Italian treasury.

The electoral college is made up of more than 1,000 senators, MPs and regional representatives.

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The strike comes after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama — who is close to Meloni — called a top RAI editor to complain about a television report into Italy’s controversial migration deal with his country.

The Usigrai trade union called the strike from May 6 to May 7 saying talks with management had failed to address their concerns.

It cited numerous issues, including staff shortages and contract issues, but in first place was “the suffocating control over journalistic work, with the attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”.

It had already used that phrase to object to what critics say is the increasing influence over RAI by figures close to Prime Minister Meloni, who leads Italy’s most right-wing government since World War II.

However, another union of RAI journalists, Unirai, said they would not join what they called a “political” strike, defending the return to “pluralism” at the broadcaster.

Funded in part by a licence fee and with top managers long chosen by politicians, RAI’s independence has always been an issue of debate.

But the arrival in power of Meloni — leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia — redoubled concerns.

Tensions erupted at the weekend amid accusations RAI censored a speech by a leading writer criticising Meloni ahead of Liberation Day on April 25, when Italians mark the defeat of Fascism and the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Both RAI’s management and Meloni have denied censorship, and the premier posted the text of the monologue on her social media.

In another twist, Albania’s premier confirmed Thursday he called senior RAI editor Paolo Corsini about an TV report on Sunday into Italy’s plans to build two migration processing centres on Albanian territory.

Rama told La Stampa newspaper the report was “biased” and contained “lies” – adding that he had not raised the issue with Meloni.

The Report programme claimed the costs of migrant centres, which are under construction, were already “out of control” and raised questions about criminals benefiting from the project.