Matteo Salvini, his far-right partner, confirmed that the Italian right-wing coalition will vote “united” for Silvio Berlusconi for the post of President of the Republic, on Thursday, 11 days before the start of the vote for the top office in Italy.
“The center-right is united and convinced in support of Berlusconi, we do not accept ideological veto from the left. I hope that no secretary or party will escape their responsibility”The former Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior announced today.
On January 24, Italy’s parliament meets in joint session – 320 senators, 630 deputies, and 58 regional delegates – to elect a replacement Sergio Mattarella as head of state for the next seven years.
An arduous parliamentary process in which right and left parties have to converge positions, because no bloc has the two-thirds majority needed to force its candidate, nor an absolute majority (half plus one) after the fourth ballot.
Moderate names are being sought, and therefore, Berlusconi’s eventual election seems, from the start, unlikely, because the left-wing bloc, led by the Democratic Party (PD), and the Five Star Movement (M5S), the main formation of the chamber, will disenfranchise you.
However, after weeks of hesitation, Matteo Salvini publicly proposed that Berlusconi be the only candidate for his coalition, which brings together his party – the League -, Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, the Italian Brotherhood led by the radical Giorgia Meloni, and two other small parties.
Berlusconi, 85, who was recently kept out of the political spotlight due to his heart problems and Covid-19 disease, has announced his desire to reach the Quirinale Palace, according to his style.
First, by denying his support for a man who could muster the consensus of all sides, the current prime minister, Mario Draghi, last year at the head of a national unity government which the businessman said he hoped would end his term. . , in the year 2023.
Precisely today, the newspaper Il Giornale, owned by the Berlusconi family, launched a campaign in support of his candidacy, listing his alleged commercial and political successes since his debut in 1994, and leaving in its pages the question: “Who is better than him?”.
Less assertive in his support for Berlusconi is the other partner of the conservative alliance, the Brothers of Italy, and its spokesman in the House of Representatives, Francesco Lollobrigida, today defended the “unified” vote on a candidate “from” the former prime minister.
“We are ready to vote for a centre-right candidate starting with Silvio Berlusconi,” he declared today in an interview with Il Messaggero newspaper, while explaining his party’s desire to “evaluate other solutions” so as not to end up imposing the left. its filter.
In this important parliamentary process, former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will also play an important role, as he heads the Italia Viva party, with 28 deputies and 14 senators who left the PD party in 2019, and who, as a hinge, continue to make great efforts. influence.
“He thinks that — the rest of the world, let alone that,” Renzi said, mocking Berlusconi’s candidacy in a recent interview.
The esteemed Draghi, in turn, clarified that he is “very much at the service of institutions”, which was interpreted as an opportunity to elect a president of the republic, but that this would lead to early legislative elections that almost no party wanted.
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