by Ayfer Selamoğlu

According to the science of psychology, it takes 8 hours to get rid of boredom, and 35 hours for joy and happiness. The re-election of President Sergio Mattarella turned these data upside down. The voting wasn’t over yet. But as soon as it was clear that he had won, the time to recover from boredom was reduced to seconds. At that moment, both the Assembly and the public breathed a sigh of relief. We have already exceeded 35 hours, but the state of joy still continues…

The Italian parliament re-elected President Sergio Mattarella for a second term over the weekend. The new extended tenant of the Italian Presidential Palace Quirinale, which has hosted Mattarella for the past seven years, has been supported by almost all Italian parties, including the Catholic left, the far-right League, the moderate left Democratic Party (PD) and the 5-Star Movement, which has been characterized as a populist movement…

The Parliament did not leave Mattarella

Eight rounds of voting were held before the name of President Mattarella was brought up again. In this process, the parties could not agree on a common candidate. The candidates they showed did not receive the expected support. But with each vote, President Mattarella’s number of votes increased steadily, despite announcing that he wanted to retire. When the voting results reached 400 in favor of Mattarella, the parties had to choose Mattarella. The President’s identity came to the fore with the Ser-Mar duo formed as a result of the voting, while the Ser-Mar state-government duo became stronger. On the other hand, populist parties, especially the far right, weakened and emerged from this process…

Presidency-government duo strengthened

Re-election, while undesirable, is a personal victory for Mattarella. In the final months of his tenure, Mattarella has repeatedly stressed that he wants to devote himself to his family after spending seven years at the Quirinale palace in Rome, which was once home to the kings and popes of Italy and is now the official residence of the state.

Before the vote, Italian newspapers published images of the neighborhood and building where he would live, pictures of his staff packing his boxes to relocate to Rome’s elegant Parioli district, where he plans to live. He interviewed his neighbors. All this showed that Mattarella was preparing for his new life

It is not the first time that the president has been elected a second time. In 2013, at a time when the effects of the economic crisis continued, Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected. At the time, it was feared that political instability might drag the country into a Greece-like scenario. At that time, political stability was a priority.

Stability was imperative!

The economic situation in Italy today is not bad. As a matter of fact, both economic data and international institutions express this. For example, Economist magazine chose Italy as the country of the year in terms of economic development. The leaders of the EU have repeatedly expressed this development. It became one of the leading countries of the EU. GDP is growing by 3.8 percent this year, according to the IMF. But the still unending Corona threat, the tourism sector, in which the country has set an important foot, was still in a stagnation period, and the current order had to continue in order to ensure the stability of the economy.

For this reason, although it was mentioned a lot, Mario Draghi was not allowed to pass to Quirinale. In this process, either a conciliatory name agreed upon by the parties was chosen, or President Mattarella, who was loved, trusted and respected by his people, had to stay in place so that the stones would not move and the stability would not be disturbed.

Had the oft-voiced Mario Draghi been elected instead of Mattarella, parliament would have failed to form a new government and triggered a general election that would endanger the salaries and pensions of many MPs. In other words, such a process was undesirable neither for the stability of the country nor for some deputies.

Couldn’t it be with another candidate? It could have. But no party is strong enough to impose its own candidate. It was seen that Mario Draghi and Mattarella harmoniously cooperated with the person who compiles and takes the fragmented government.

Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, tried to play the kingmaker role by recommending Elisabetta Casellati, Senate president and Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative Forza Italia member. However, it did not get enough support from the centre-right parties at first. As for the social democrats, the PD did not have enough seats to choose the one they wanted. But played a key role by voting for Mattarella.

The losers…

There were also losers in this election. The failure of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was the first to announce his candidacy, in his attempts to rise to the presidency is seen as an indicator of his political weakening. The alliance crack that started between Meloni and Salvini during the establishment of the Draghi government became more visible in this process. Salvini was among the names that came out of this process weakened. Meanwhile, the M5S continued to show major splits. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio would have liked to see Draghi instead of Mattarella. But former prime minister and M5S political leader Giuseppe Conte has announced his preference for Elisabetta Belloni, a diplomat and current director of a department that coordinates the secret services.

Mattarella thanked parliament after his re-election and said he would respect its decisions. In this process, he announced that he would continue to work for the good of Italy. The general situation in the parliament passed the passing exam and went to the end of the year ball in class joy. Even though there are discussions within the parties, they all unite in the wish of peace and stability.

After that!

Mattarella and Draghi have shown a harmonious and respectful union so far. Both are known to be pro-EU and pro-NATO. If we add the international power of Draghi, who has the power to lead the multi-party government, we can say that “Italy has won”. “It was already like that, what has changed?” you can say. As a result of the elections held due to the end of the presidential term, Mattarella’s loved, respected and trusted identity and the importance of Quirinale once again came to the fore. The Ser-Mar leadership was evened and strengthened. The government led by Mario Draggi, which supported Mattarella, also got stronger. What Italy needs most in this period is triple harmony. In other words, stability… Despite the cracks within the parties, this image seems to have been established throughout the country. Draghi will continue to apply his economic and financial knowledge, and Mattarella will use his knowledge, experience, political capital and weight in this process.

And President Mattarella took his oath in office with the words today “An unexpected call for a new responsibility for me”. Parliament showed its emotions with standing ovations that never ceased. Ser-Mar was the winds of joy…