Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has decided not to run for president after all. Current Prime Minister Mario Draghi has the best cards for the succession of current President Sergio Mattarella.
The message that the 85-year-old Forza Italia leader is withdrawing came during an online meeting of the right-wing and center-right parties over a joint candidate for president. Berlusconi had his statement read out.
In the statement, Berlusconi said the parties can now choose another candidate ahead of next week’s vote in parliament. “I have decided to take a different path and I ask that you refrain from proposing my name as President of the Republic,” he said. “I will serve my country in a different way.”
Too little support
Earlier this week, rumors circulated that Berlusconi would no longer run for the presidency. Berlusconi, who was prime minister of Italy three times and caused a lot of commotion, would not get nearly enough parliamentarians behind him to become president.
He would still miss about a hundred of the necessary 505 votes, Italian media reported earlier this week. Center-left parties have previously announced that they will not support the businessman and media mogul.
Flowers
Berlusconi stepped down as prime minister in 2011. His position had become untenable after several scandals, with the so-called bunga bunga sex parties causing the most controversy. In 2010, he is said to have had sex with the then 17-year-old prostitute Ruby. He became sentenced to seven years in prison and was no longer allowed to hold public office. Berlusconi was acquitted on appeal in 2014, but was later suspected of bribing witnesses to remain silent about the case.
Everything indicates that the current Prime Minister Draghi (74) will now become the new Italian president. He is favored by left-wing and moderate parliamentarians. But many parties would prefer Draghi, former European Central Bank president, to remain in his current post because he has brought calm to the Italian government and his departure could lead to snap elections.
The president is elected by the two chambers of parliament and representatives of the regions. Sergio Mattarella, 80, is stepping down after seven years, and voting on his successor will start on Monday, January 24. This procedure can take several days.
Berlusconi: loved, hated and untouchable:
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