L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano A t the end of the m o n t h , I t a l y will choose its new President, t h e s u c c e s s o r o f S e r g i o M a t t a r e l l a . Contrarily to what happens in the US, however, citizens don't vote for their head of state directly: it's the Parlia- ment that decides. This is because Italy and the US are t w o d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f republics: the US is a presi- dential one, while Italy is a parliamentary one. The most evident differ- e n c e b e t w e e n t h e t w o i s , indeed, the way the presi- dent is elected: directly by c i t i z e n s i n p r e s i d e n t i a l republics; by citizens' repre- sentatives in parliamentary ones. Now, considering the v a r i e d a n d o f t e n c o l o r f u l political panorama in the Belpaese, you can imagine electing a new president can b e c o m e a v e r y c o m p l e x affair, a game of ideologies, c o a l i t i o n s , a n d p o w e r d y n a m i c s , i n w h i c h w e Italians are nothing more than careful spectators. Candidates, who must be 5 0 o r o v e r a n d h a v e f u l l political and civic rights, are not necessarily simple to identify, either, because not every party or coalition pre- sents its own and names are o f t e n o n l y w h i s p e r e d i n secrecy, in a very cloak-and- dagger fashion, rather than being officially released to the public. Take this elec- tion, for example: the cen- ter-right is, apparently, sup- porting Berlusconi (yes, you read that right), while a wider majority made up of a l l o t h e r p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s seems to be bringing for- ward the name of our Prime M i n i s t e r , M a r i o Draghi who, on his part, neither denies nor confirms he is actually running for the presidency. If he were to be elected, his departure from Palazzo Chigi could easily mean new national elections t o f i n d a n e w p o l i t i c a l majority. The Movimento Cinque S t e l l e , l e d b y f o r m e r P r e m i e r G i u s e p p e C o n t e , w o u l d l i k e , o n t h e o t h e r hand, to see Mattarella on the Colle for a second term. Indeed, Mattarella remains o n e o f t h e m o s t p o p u l a r n a m e s a m o n g M P s , e v e n though he made it clear he is not keen on serving another 7 years. Conte also highlighted it m a y b e t i m e t o e l e c t a woman, but who could the first female President of t h e R e p u b l i c b e ? S o m e n a m e s h a v e b e e n m a d e , f r o m E l i s a b e t t a A l b e r t i Casellati, the President of the Senate (the second, most i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n o u r Republic, a sort of vice-pres- ident), to former minister P a o l a S e v e r i n o . L a s t October, some had made the name of Senator for Life and Holocaust survivor Liliana S e g r e , 9 1 , w h o p o l i t e l y declined the candidature. Other names making the rounds in the media are for- m e r P r i m e M i n i s t e r s Giuliano Amato, Romano Prodi, and Paolo Gentiloni, t h e l a t t e r s e r v i n g i n Bruxelles at the European P a r l i a m e n t , w h i c h h e i s unlikely to leave, it seems. The election takes place in the Parliament, which in Italy counts 945 members, split between 630 MPs and 315 senators. Besides them, the electoral see counts also t h r e e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f o r each region, to ensure our minorities are represented. For the first three voting sessions, a 2/3 majority vote is set, which means 2/3 of the total voters must choose t h e s a m e c a n d i d a t e : t h i s b a s i c a l l y n e v e r h a p p e n s . From the fourth voting ses- sion on, the President can be e l e c t e d w i t h a n a b s o l u t e majority, that is, when half o f t h e e l e c t o r s p l u s o n e chooses the same person. O n c e e l e c t e d , o u r President remains in charge for seven years. Presidential elections are o f t e n f u l l o f d r a m a , o f course, and our history gives u s s o m e i n t e r e s t i n g a n d curious examples. In 1948, during the first election for the Italian president, ten- sions between monarchists and republicans were still strong (Italy had chosen the republic as a form of gov- ernment only 2 years earlier, on the 10th of June 1946), so the theatrical gesture of G i o v a n n i A l l i a t a D i M o n t e r e a l e , f r o m t h e P a r t i t o M o n a r c h i c o , who ripped his ballot shout- ing W La Monarchia! didn't really surprise anyone. On that occasion, Luigi Einaudi was elected and became the first President of the Italian Republic in history. In 1964, elections started o n t h e 1 6 t h o f D e c e m b e r and lasted until the 28th, with a voting session taking p l a c e e v e n o n C h r i s t m a s day, at 7 pm: no one, clearly, w a n t e d t o s a c r i f i c e Christmas lunch with the f a m i l y . D u r i n g t h e s a m e e l e c t i o n , M P G e n n a r o Cassiano rose to fame for being the first – and last – MP to vote for the president … outside of the Parliament. B e c a u s e o f a n a c c i d e n t , Cassiano was wheelchair- bound and couldn't access his seat in Montecitorio, so the voting urn was brought to him in the corridor. That year, Giuseppe Saragat was elected. Even Mattarella's elec- tion, seven years ago, had s o m e s o a p - o p e r a w o r t h y drama going on. Mattarella w a s l a r g e l y s u p p o r t e d b y center-left and center par- ties, while the center-right c o a l i t i o n w a s a g a i n s t h i s candidature. Nevertheless, it was the vote of 50 members of the right – unknown, of course, because the vote is r i g o r o u s l y a n o n y m o u s – t h a t u l t i m a t e l y g a v e t h e presidency to the Sicilian j u r i s t a n d a c a d e m i c . T h e aftermath was worthy, as you can imagine, of the best seasons of The Bold and the Beautiful, of course. On the 24th of January so, and for at least a couple of weeks, be ready to enjoy some Made in Italy political drama, in the hope that the right person to represent us and our beautiful country is picked. Two beloved presidents … and a potential one: from left, clockwise: Sandro Pertini (President from 1978 to 1985. Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Agreement. Author: Quirinale.it. License: Public Domain), Silvio Berlusconi (Photo: Fabrizio Argonauta/Dreamstime) and Sergio Mattarella (President from 2015 to 2022. Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Agreement. Author: Quirinale.it. License: Public Domain) Italy and its President. History and curiosities about il Belpaese's first citizen FRANCESCA BEZZONE SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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