Sergio Mattarella has been re-elected for a second term in what, to us certainly, seemed a long, drawn-out and at times quite baffling process.
Without even a list of formal candidates to start with, the secret ballot held over a number of rounds (and therefore, a number of days) is cast by around 1000 MPs, senators and politicians. At any stage of the process, anyone can nominate new candidates; the only criteria for nomination is that you must be Italian, over 50 and alive, criteria which in the past has seen filmstars and ex-footballers being nominated.
A lack of agreement on candidates from the main parties meant that for the first few rounds, ballots were left blank as party leaders continued to discuss alternatives. The main TV channels ran daily ‘election specials’ to talk at length how nothing had happened, that the round of voting had resulted yet again in fumata nera (black smoke), a term borrowed from the voting in a papal conclave to show no pope had been chosen. The evening news devoted most of its 30 minute slot to its reporters live at the scene who also confirmed that nothing had changed, while the expert in the studio pondered what might happen next.
And so it eventually fell to Mattarella, to continue where he wanted to leave off, for another 7 years. Having already seen the country through 5 different governments, will he stay for the full term?
‘I had other plans,’ he reportedly said. Who could blame him if he didn’t?