Italy: Mattarella tells party chiefs he is 'at country's disposal' prior to eight round of voting
As Italian political leaders on Saturday struggled to clinch a deal to elect Italy's next president, momentum appeared to be building for president Sergio Mattarella to reconsider his refusal to serve a second term as head of state — a role meant to unify the nation.
After days of stalemate, Italian party heads urged 80-year-old Mattarella to change his mind amid concerns that protracted political squabbling would erode the nation's credibility.
Mattarella's term ends on 3 February, and in the run-up to the presidential election this week, Mattarella repeatedly said he doesn't want another stint.
He even rented an apartment in Rome to prepare for his move from the presidential palace atop the Quirinal Hill.
But after a seventh round of balloting in six days in Parliament by lawmakers and special regional representatives failed to yield any consensus on a presidential candidate, party whips and regional governors visited Mattarella at the presidential palace to solicit his willingness ahead of what could the decisive vote Saturday evening.
A chorus of Italian politicians publicly called for Mattarella to reconsider.
Former prime Minister silvio Berlusconi, who heads the centre-right Forza Italia, said that unity "today can only be found around the figure of president Sergio Mattarella, of whom we know we're asking a great sacrifice."
Health minister Roberto Speranza, who heads a small left-wing party Articolo Uno, told reporters that Mattarella's re-election would be crucial for “a context of stability for Italy”.
The head of the populist 5-Star Movement, Parliament's largest force, former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, also joined in the pressing. "Mattarella is the guarantor of everybody, impartial, authoritative,'' he told
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