Giorgio Napolitano re-elected as Italy's president, prompting relief and protests

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

Giorgio Napolitano, an 87-year-old political veteran who had been planning to embark on a well-earned retirement within weeks, has become the first Italian president to be re-elected to serve a second term, after squabbling and discredited party leaders who had failed to agree on his successor begged him to stay on "in the higher interests of the country".

In an unprecedented move which observers said raised Italy's chances of seeing the formation a broad coalition government, the widely-respected former Communist was re-elected with cross-party backing that included Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Freedom People (PDL) party and the centre-left Democratic party (PD).

Napolitano received 738 votes, easily surpassing the simple majority needed in the sixth round of an election that since Thursday had been dogged by vicious infighting in the PD and had compounded the political stalemate in which Italy has been stuck for weeks.

The result was greeted with relief and a standing ovation by most MPs in the chamber of deputies. But outside hundreds of protesters damned what they saw as a depressing sign of Italy's political stagnation and back-room deal-making.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/20/giorgio-napolitano-italy-president

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. "nearly 95 by the end of a second seven-year term"

I hope they can get their act together and let him resign when they've agreed on a successor. If this is such an important job that they can't agree on anyone else to do it, they really shouldn't be asked someone that old to do it.

[harmonicon]

4. It's not such an important job.

It's largely symbolic, but the idea is that such a large backing for something symbolic sends a message about unity and willingness to cooperate.

[Yo_Mama]

5. The president appoints the prime minister

The president is elected and his real primary function is to act as head of state and kind of see that everything is done constitutionally. He can dissolve Parliaments and call elections, but not at the end of his office term, I think. He is considered the head of the military and of the judiciary. As I wrote, the President appoints the Prime Minister. The president declares war.

The prime minister handles more of the day to day functions, but the Council of Ministers has a lot of power in the Italian political system. The ministers often have to vote to allow the PM to do a lot of functions. (PM is the president of the council of ministers). The council of ministers is very powerful - for instance, they can introduce bills in Parliament.

The Prime Minister nominates the other ministers and the president officially appoints them. PMs can be tossed by a vote of no confidence in either house of parliament, so there has to be an agreement or the PM goes down and another one is chosen or a general election is called.

Now the argument begins over who the PM shall be!!!

Paradoxically, I think that since this is a new presidential term the president will now be able to dissolve the parliament and call another vote if he can't get an agreement on a PM. Otherwise, I think they had to muddle on like this until summer.

Grillo's party had said that they wanted to force new elections. I assume the bargaining over the PM is going to be hot.

[Ken Burch]

2. In Italy, the president basically just cuts ribbons and hands out awards, right?

Whatever.

[BelgianMadCow]

3. That protest is gonna get pretty serious. Beppe Grillo has called for millions to join him in Rome

check #Tuttiaroma

Two-page report about today's protest here.

Tomorrow there will be a demo. Grillo (of M5S) called off the demo in the Piazza di Montecitorio because of public order concerns voiced by the police. They are now considering moving the demo (which, reading Grillo, will be more like an occupation, as in open ended) to the much larger Piazza di Popolo.

Grillo's statement as wrangled by google translate:

"There are decisive moments in the history of a nation. Today, April 20, 2013, is one of those. We are in a coup," he wrote on his blog. "The M5S alone can not change the country. It's required to have mobilization of the people. I'm going to Rome in a camper," he explained, "I'll' before the House tonight. I'll stay for as long as necessary. We be millions. Do not leave me alone or with four cats. Di piu 'I can not do. democracy here or do or die as a country. they decided to keep Napolitano at the Quirinale, to appoint Amato President of the Council, to apply as a program of government document of the ten essays by area PDL / Pd which has among its points the muzzle to the judiciary and the maintenance of public funding for parties"

An actual translation in Spanish is here.