Presidents Casellati and Fico received at the Quirinale by Mattarella for his realection
“I thank the Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate for their communication.
I would like to thank the parliamentarians and the delegates of the Regions for the confidence expressed in me.
The difficult days spent in the election to the Presidency of the Republic during the serious emergency we are still going through – on the health, economic and social fronts – call for a sense of responsibility and respect for the decisions of Parliament.
These conditions require that we do not shirk the duties to which we are called – and, of course, they must prevail over other considerations and different personal perspectives – with the commitment to interpreting the expectations and hopes of our fellow citizens”.
This is what President Mattarella said at the end of his meeting with the Presidents of the Senate, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, and the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico, who informed him of the outcome of the vote to elect the President of the Republic.
In turn, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said:
“Sergio Mattarella being re-elected as President of the Republic is wonderful news for Italians. I am grateful to the President for his decision to accommodate Parliament’s very strong desire to re-elect him for a second mandate.”
Mattarella’s current mandate ends on 3 February and he had already indicated that he did not want to renew for a second seven-year term, but on Saturday he acknowledged that he will accept the parties that informed him of their intention to support his re-election, in a personal visit they made to the headquarters of the presidency of the Italian Republic before the vote.
The Sicilian jurist will become the second head of state to repeat his mandate, after Giorgio Napolitano had to do so in 2013, also despite the fact that he had said he wanted to retire, although he signed his resignation in 2015.
It took eight votes for the parties to put an end to the impasse and the solution was to leave everything as it is, with Mattarella continuing as head of state and Mario Draghi in the government. Draghi had shown his willingness to be the new president, but his appointment would have required the appointment of another head of government capable of holding together the current heterogeneous coalition, and this was not possible.
