Roundup: Italy's presidential election begins in Parliament amid high expectations

Italian parliament gathered in joint session of both Houses on Thursday for the first round of voting to elect the new president, after 89-year-old Giorgio Napolitano resigned on January 14th.

The election process of the next head of State, whose figure may have a major influence on Italy's politics and reform path in future months, was being followed attentively by both media and people.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi advanced the name of Sicilian judge Sergio Mattarella, member of the Constitutional Court since 2011 and former minister in several governments.

Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) fully supported his candidature, on which minor leftist and centrist forces also seemed to agree.

The name of Mattarella, who entered politics as a Christian Democratic in the 1980s after his brother was killed by the Sicilian mafia, was however not welcomed by Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party and main opposition force in parliament.

Mattarella had in fact resigned as education minister in the 1990s to protest against a government's provision that helped Berlusconi's TV empire to develop.

Thursday's first round of balloting was not really expected to be crucial, considering the lack of agreement between major parties. Yet, it was watched with keen interest in the country.

Besides TV outlets, all major Italian newspapers extensively followed the event with live coverage. Some people gathered outside parliament despite an unusual day of bitter rain to watch 1,009 lawmakers and regional representatives entering the Lower House to join in the vote.

"I came specifically for this," Antonio Roberti told Xinhua, while taking shelter under a portico opposite the parliament and government buildings.

The man came from a village in Southern Italy where another presidential candidate was born.

Honorary president of Italy's Supreme Court Ferdinando Imposimato was in fact promoted by anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) after a poll on social media among activists.

Imposimato was the kind of man Roberti would like to see at the Quirinale presidential palace.

"I am happy M5S has chosen him. I had the chance to know him, and I have seen he is a balanced, honest, and consistent man," Roberti said.

His hopes for judge Imposimato really winning the presidential race were not high, given that his candidacy was not shared by other major parties. Yet, Roberti knew what president he would want.

"A 'super partes' one, not an arbitrator within politics but a guarantor for country and citizens."

Francesca Barbieri from Rome expressed quite an opposite position. She said she was not around the parliament to follow the voting and not even well informed about it. Yet, she also had a clear mind.

"I want the next president to be a decent person, and an experienced one," she said.

"I don't want the head of State to be partisan of course, but I would like he or she to play a role in the country's major political choices".

The distinction was not at all meaningless.

Italy's president traditionally plays a ceremonial and balancing role in politics, but becomes a key player in times of broad instability and can use his impartial status to help solving major deadlocks, selecting the prime minister and forming cabinets.

More than 500 blank ballots were cast on Thursday and the first vote ended with no result, as most of media and analysts had expected.

A broad two-third majority is in fact required to elect Italy's president in the first three rounds of voting. From the fourth round, which would likely take place on Saturday, a simple majority will suffice.

PM Renzi has numbers enough to elect his candidate Mattarella on the fourth round, in principle, but this step might have consequences.

Considering that a pact on institutional reforms was struck by Renzi and Berlusconi in early 2014, a major breach between them over the presidential election would put in jeopardy both the reform path and PM Renzi's plan to bring his cabinet to its natural end in 2018. Endit