The document summarizes the 2013 election for President of Italy. It describes the multi-round electoral process and profiles three potential scenarios: 1) a broad agreement between major parties on a consensus candidate; 2) the majority coalition electing its own candidate after failing to reach agreement; and 3) compromise on an outsider candidate after many rounds of deadlock. Ultimately, the divided parliament re-elected incumbent Giorgio Napolitano in the sixth round after other options failed. Napolitano became the first Italian president to be re-elected for a second term.

1. Italy
Election of the President of
the Republic
Rules, procedure and an analysis of the
(typically) political match of 2013 Head of
State election
April 2013

2. 2013 election of the President of the Republic
Saturday 20 April. Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected as
President of the Italian Republic in the sixth round.
On the average, from the birth of the Republic, ten rounds were
necessary to elect the Head of State.
Giorgio Napolitano is the first President in the history of the
Italian Republic to be re-elected for a second term.
Any Italian citizen who is fifty or older and enjoys civil and
political rights can be elected President.

3. The 1.007 electors
The President is elected by the Parliament in joint session.
Who is entitled to vote?
• 630 Chamber of Deputies (Lower House) members;
• 319 Senators (315 elected + 4 senators for life);
• 58 regional representatives appointed by the Regional Councils
(three for each Region, except for Valle d’Aosta which has
only one). The procedure provides that one of the three
representatives is the President of the Region while the
remaining 2 are chosen from the majority and from the
opposition respectively. The choice is up to political groups
within the Regional Council.

4. Steps
In the first three rounds a two-third majority of the electors is
required (672/1007).
Starting from the fourth round the absolute majority is needed
(504/1007).
2013 first round was held on 18 April and it ended up with no
result.

5. The procedure
The election must be held by a secret ballot: a key element to
understand the lack of discipline within parliamentary groups.
There are neither official candidacies, nor formal debate on possible
candidates: the election of the President is a “Conclave”, where the
electors go for consecutive votings. Negotiations are carried out
unofficially, between a round and the other.

6. The balance of political forces in 2013 Parliament
The seats
Centre-left
Five Star Movement
Monti’s group
Others
Centre-right

7. First Scenario. “The broad agreement”
> Formula. The two major parties (PD and PdL) agree on an
authoritative candidate representing the national unity. In this
case case, the President is elected in one of the first rounds.
> Historical precedent. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, elected in the first
round on 13 May 1999. The so called "Ulivo coalition" (centre-left)
is ruling the Country, but opposition parties agree on Ciampi’s
candidacy as well.
> 2013 favourite candidate. Franco Marini, as a result of the
agreement between Bersani and Berlusconi. This choice tears
apart the PD group whose members do not follow Secretary
indications: in the first round Marini gets only 521 votes out of
the 672 required. The parties decide non to insist on Marini’s
candidacy.

8. Second Scenario “The breaking point”
> Formula. The major political forces do not reach an agreement.
The majority coalition elects its candidate (unilaterally) starting
from the fourth round.
> Historical precedent. Giorgio Napolitano, elected on 10 May
2006 in the first round gaining only the centre-left coalition
votes. The initial candidacy of Massimo D’Alema had not been
supported by centre-right opposition.
> 2013 favourite candidate. Romano Prodi. In an attempt to
bring the centre-left back together, Bersani proposes former EU
Commission President right before the beginning of the fourth
round. PD group approves unanimously, but voting secretly the
supporters of Marini (and of the deal with PdL) take their
revenge: Prodi stops at 395 votes (out of the 504 required).
Prodi withdraw his candidacy and Bersani announces his
resignation.

9. Third scenario “The outsider”
> Formula. As the bi-partisan deal failed and the majority coalition
was not able to single out a strong political candidacy,
compromise solutions come out. The election may occur after
many rounds.
> Historical precedent. Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, elected on 25 May
1992, at the sixteenth round. His election took place in a very
difficult political and institutional situation (Tangentopoli scandal,
Capaci massacre) when initial candidacies couldn’t be followed
anymore. As a last resort option the Parliament chose the
President of the Chamber of Deputies in office.
> 2013 favourite candidate. Emma Bonino, long time politician,
without a party support; Massimo D’Alema, left-wing, able to
attract right-wing votes; Pietro Grasso, the institutional
candidate; Stefano Rodotà, jurist with a left-wing past, supported
by the Five Star Movement (5SM) of comedian Beppe Grillo.

10. An institutional habit unexpectedly broken
After PD split, parties give up to the political-institutional
stalemate and "invoked" for Napolitano who agreed to stand for re-
election and called on divided political parties to act responsibly (that
is a broad coalition government – PD-PdL-Monti’s party).
Saturday 20 April 2013: Napolitano obtained, in the sixth round,
738 votes becoming the first President of the Republic being elected
for a second term. Rodotà, invoked by Grillo, got 217 votes,
obtaining ten votes more than the total of SEL and 5SM electors.
He was sworn-in on 22 April 2013 before the Parliament in joint
session.

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