Italian President Giorgio Napolitano urges the creation of a new government
April 23, 2013
Italy has been without a unified government since its general elections in February 2013 which ended with no clear victor and the nation's three main political entities - former Prime Minister's Silvio Berlusconi's center-right People of Freedom (PDL), the center-left Democratic Party (PD) and Italian comedian Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement - incapable of forming a coalition government and electing a new PM. At the election the PD narrowly won a majority in the lower house, but failed to win control of the Senate.
President urges a solution
Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano has had enough of the deadlock and told ministers of parliament (MP) on April 23 that their failure to elect a government thus far was "unforgivable" before implying that he would resign the presidency if the situation is not rectified soon, reports the BBC
"I must be frank," Napolitano said. "If I again face deafness - as in the past - I will not hesitate to take conclusions in front of the nation."
Napolitano's continued role as president itself signifies the paralyzing divisions within the nation's political systems. He was re-elected on April 20, 2013, a first in Italian politics, when the political parties were incapable of choosing a new head of state after multiple round of f balloting. The president is 87-years-old and had reportedly already begun shipping his possessions out of the presidential palace when the political parties begged him to stay on.
"(The maneuver was) an emergency solution to prevent a complete deterioration of the political situation and maintain a certain amount of stability and continuity," said Roberto D'Alimonte, a political scientist at Rome's LUISS University, reports the BBC.
Leading candidates
Currently there are two candidates said to be in the running to lead a coalition government. The first is the mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi. The 38-year-old center left politician polls as the nation's most well liked elected official and Silvio Berlusconi has said his center-right party does not oppose his election. For his part, Renzi does not think he is a likely candidate for the position.
"It's the hypothesis which is most surprising and least probable, I don't think it's on the table," he told representatives of the press.
The other candidate whose name is being bandied about is former Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, whose selection s reportedly favored by Napolitano.
Representatives of PDL and PD will be meeting with the president on April 23. It is expected that a new government could be in place by the following weekend.
Followers of the drama in Italy's political system can pick up an international calling card and share the latest thrills and chills with friends and family all over the globe.