Italian presidential election, 2006
Encyclopedia
President of the Italian Republic
The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president's term of office lasts for seven years....
was held on May 2–10, 2006. As a second-level, indirect election, only Members of Parliament and regional deputies were entitled to vote. Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
was elected head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
of the Italian Republic, a role of representation of national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
.
On May 2, 2006, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti is an Italian politician and former leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. On April 29, 2006, after the center-left coalition's victory in the Italian general election, he was chosen by the new parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies .-Trade...
, in agreement with Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
Speaker Franco Marini
Franco Marini
Franco Marini is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-left Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2008 he was President of the Italian Senate.-Biography:...
, convened the two houses of the Italian Parliament, integrated with a number of representatives appointed by the twenty Italian regions, in a common session on May 8 in order to commence voting for the election of the new President of the Italian Republic
President of the Italian Republic
The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president's term of office lasts for seven years....
.
According to the Italian Constitution
Constitution of Italy
The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended 13 times, was promulgated in the extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 298 on 27 December 1947...
, the election must be held in the form of secret ballot, with the Senators, the Deputies and 58 regional representatives allowed to cast their votes. When the 2006 election was held, the Senate counted 322 members and the Chamber of Deputies counted 629 members; the electors were in total 1009. The election is held in the Palazzo Montecitorio
Palazzo Montecitorio
The Palazzo Montecitorio is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.- History :The building was originally designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the young Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregory XV...
, home of the Chamber of Deputies, with the capacity of the building being expanded for the purpose. The first three ballots require a two-thirds majority of the voters in order to elect a President, in this election equivalent to 673 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority is required for candidates to be elected (in this election, 505 votes). The election is conducted by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, who has the authority to proceed to the public counting of the votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years.
Outgoing President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006...
, 85, was asked to run for another mandate by the centre-right House of Freedoms
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
, with the strong support of the centre-left Union
The Union (political coalition)
The Union was an centre-left coalition of political parties in Italy. It was led by Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy from April 2006 to April 2008, and former President of the European Commission.-Parties:...
. However, Ciampi declined to run again, noting that "none of the past nine presidents of the Republic has been re-elected. I think this has become a meaningful rule. It is better not to infringe it." Ciampi was elected in 1999 at the first ballot, becoming only the second president ever to win on the first ballot, after Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari....
.
On May 10, Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
, the candidate endorsed by the Union, was elected on the fourth ballot with 543 votes. His term officially started with a swearing-in ceremony held on May 15.
First ballot (May 8)
The Union initially proposed lifetime Senator Giorgio NapolitanoGiorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
as its official candidate, in an attempt to reach an agreement with the House of Freedoms, whose votes would have been necessary to have a successful election at the first ballot; however, the centre-right opposition declared it did not intend to vote for Napolitano, and instead announced its own members would vote for Gianni Letta
Gianni Letta
Gianni Letta is an Italian ex politician and journalist.After graduating in law, he started working as a journalist for several daily newspapers, as well as RAI and ANSA....
. After this announcement, the Union declared that its members would cast a blank vote in the first ballot, in order not to waste Napolitano's candidacy, with the exception of the Rose in the Fist
Rose in the Fist
The Rose in the Fist was a coalition of parties in Italy.The RnP was composed of the social-democratic Italian Democratic Socialists , the libertarian Italian Radicals and some independent members gathered in the Association for the Rose in the Fist The Rose in the Fist was a coalition of...
, which would vote for either Adriano Sofri
Adriano Sofri
Adriano Sofri is an Italian intellectual, a journalist and a writer.Former leader of the autonomist movement Lotta Continua in the 1960s, he was arrested in 1988 and convicted to 22 years of prison, having been found guilty of being the instigator of the murder of Luigi Calabresi, a police...
or Emma Bonino
Emma Bonino
Emma Bonino is an Italian politician, former Member of the European Parliament and current Member of the Italian Senate. She is a leading member of the Italian Radicals, a political party that supports economic and social libertarianism, and human rights...
. Inside the centre-right, the Christian Democracy for Autonomies and the New Italian Socialist Party voted for journalist Giuliano Ferrara
Giuliano Ferrara
Giuliano Ferrara is an Italian politician, journalist, founding editor of Il Foglio, and TV presenter.After the militancy in the PCI and PSI, in the nineties has become a supporter of Silvio Berlusconi, and finally one of the most intellectual representatives of Italian Theoconservativism-Life and...
.
The voting operations started at 16:00 CEST
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
; as no candidate obtained the 673 votes requested to win the election, a new ballot was held in the morning of May 9.
Results
| Name | Votes |
|---|---|
| Gianni Letta Gianni Letta Gianni Letta is an Italian ex politician and journalist.After graduating in law, he started working as a journalist for several daily newspapers, as well as RAI and ANSA.... |
369 |
| Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left... |
27 |
| Franca Rame Franca Rame Franca Rame is an Italian theatre actress and playwright. She is also the wife of Nobel Prize winning author Dario Fo and the mother of the writer Jacopo Fo.- Life :... |
24 |
| Adriano Sofri Adriano Sofri Adriano Sofri is an Italian intellectual, a journalist and a writer.Former leader of the autonomist movement Lotta Continua in the 1960s, he was arrested in 1988 and convicted to 22 years of prison, having been found guilty of being the instigator of the murder of Luigi Calabresi, a police... |
23 |
| Siegfried Brugger | 12 |
| Giuliano Ferrara Giuliano Ferrara Giuliano Ferrara is an Italian politician, journalist, founding editor of Il Foglio, and TV presenter.After the militancy in the PCI and PSI, in the nineties has become a supporter of Silvio Berlusconi, and finally one of the most intellectual representatives of Italian Theoconservativism-Life and... |
8 |
| Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to... |
8 |
| Giampaolo Malavasi | 6 |
| Gino Strada Gino Strada Gino Strada is an Italian war surgeon and founder of the UN-recognized Italian NGO Emergency. Emergency has operated in thirteen war-torn countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and the Central African Republic.- Biography :Dr... |
5 |
| Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006... |
4 |
| Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly... |
3 |
| Umberto Bossi Umberto Bossi Umberto Bossi is an Italian politician, leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy. He is married to Manuela Marrone and has four sons .... |
3 |
| Cesare Previti Cesare Previti Cesare Previti is a former Italian politician.-Biography:Born in Reggio Calabria, he grew up in Rome, where he started practicing law. In 1971 he became acquainted with Silvio Berlusconi, the construction magnate, later to be media mogul and Prime Minister of Italy... |
3 |
| Stefano Rodotà | 3 |
| Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he... |
2 |
| Giuseppe Anzani | 2 |
| Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the... |
2 |
| Lidia Menapace | 2 |
| Other candidates | 22 |
| Blank votes | 438 |
| Invalid votes | 18 |
Among the other votes cast, there were one vote each for Linda Giuva, wife of Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
, singer/songwriter Francesco Guccini
Francesco Guccini
Francesco Guccini is an Italian singer-songwriter, considered one of the most important Cantautori. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live albums. He is also a writer, having published autobiographic and noir novels, and a comics...
and controversial writer Oriana Fallaci
Oriana Fallaci
Oriana Fallaci was an Italian journalist, author, and political interviewer. A former partisan during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career...
. A vote for Giorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante was an Italian politician, the founder and leader of the Italian Social Movement until his retirement in 1987.-Early life:...
, historical leader of the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
who died in 1988, was declared invalid.
Second ballot (May 9)
This ballot, as well as the first, required a majority of 673 votes. After several discussions about the opportunity to vote for Giorgio Napolitano, the House of Freedoms decided to cast a blank vote too. However, the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats declared its members could vote for Napolitano in the next ballot, an opinion that was not shared within the coalition. Due to the lack of consensus and the row in the opposition, the Union members decided to continue withholding their votes for Napolitano. Rather than casting a blank vote, the centre-left party Popular-UDEUR instead decided to vote in this ballot for an own symbolic candidate, Giuseppe De Rita.The voting operations started at 11:30 CEST
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
.
Results
| Name | Votes |
|---|---|
| Umberto Bossi Umberto Bossi Umberto Bossi is an Italian politician, leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy. He is married to Manuela Marrone and has four sons .... |
38 |
| Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left... |
35 |
| Giuseppe De Rita | 19 |
| Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to... |
15 |
| Gianni Letta Gianni Letta Gianni Letta is an Italian ex politician and journalist.After graduating in law, he started working as a journalist for several daily newspapers, as well as RAI and ANSA.... |
11 |
| Siegfried Brugger | 11 |
| Giuliano Ferrara Giuliano Ferrara Giuliano Ferrara is an Italian politician, journalist, founding editor of Il Foglio, and TV presenter.After the militancy in the PCI and PSI, in the nineties has become a supporter of Silvio Berlusconi, and finally one of the most intellectual representatives of Italian Theoconservativism-Life and... |
9 |
| Renato Antonioli | 7 |
| Angelo Sanza | 6 |
| Francesco Cosimi Proietti | 6 |
| Gino Strada Gino Strada Gino Strada is an Italian war surgeon and founder of the UN-recognized Italian NGO Emergency. Emergency has operated in thirteen war-torn countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and the Central African Republic.- Biography :Dr... |
5 |
| Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly... |
4 |
| Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006... |
3 |
| Livia Menapace | 3 |
| Luigi Pallaro | 3 |
| Antonio Ambra | 3 |
| Franco Marini Franco Marini Franco Marini is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-left Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2008 he was President of the Italian Senate.-Biography:... |
3 |
| Linda Giuva Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left... |
3 |
| Stefano Rodotà | 3 |
| Maria Gabriella di Savoia | 3 |
| Bruno Vespa Bruno Vespa Bruno Vespa is an Italian television and newspaper journalist.A former director of Italian state-owned TV channel Rai Uno's news program TG1, he is the founding host of the program Porta a Porta , which has been broadcast without interruption on RAI channels since 1996.Vespa was born in L'Aquila,... |
3 |
| Franco Piperno Franco Piperno Franco Piperno is an Italian former communist militant. He is currently an associated professor of Condensed Matter Physics in the University of Calabria..-Biography:Piperno was born at Catanzaro.... |
2 |
| Mauro Mellini | 2 |
| Other candidates | 29 |
| Blank votes | 724 |
| Invalid votes | 22 |
Among the other votes, there were one vote each for rock musician Vasco Rossi
Vasco Rossi
Vasco Rossi , also known as Vasco or with the nickname Il Blasco, is an Italian singer-songwriter. During his career, he has published 25 albums and has written over 150 songs, as well as lyrics for other artists...
and Luciano Moggi
Luciano Moggi
Luciano Moggi is an Italian football managing director. He was the general director of Juventus F.C. from 1994 until May 2006, years that anointed him as one of the most successful football managing director except the last two club seasons that were involved in Calciopoli...
, general manager of the football team Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
.
Third ballot (May 9)
After the second ballot, Silvio Berlusconi declared his coalition would never vote for either Giorgio Napolitano or any other candidate associated with the Democrats of the Left, and would continue casting blank votes for both the third and probably also the fourth ballot. However, Pier Ferdinando CasiniPier Ferdinando Casini
Pier Ferdinando Casini is an Italian politician.-Biography:President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006...
, leader of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, an ally of Berlusconi in the House of Freedoms, declared that his party considered it "a mistake not to vote for Giorgio Napolitano as President of the Republic" and expressed a wish for a large consensus among the political forces on Napolitano's name. On the other hand, the Union declared its members would again cast a blank vote in this ballot, but would vote for Napolitano in the fourth ballot, to be held on May 10, for which a plain majority of votes would be required for a successful election.
The voting operations started at 17:00 CEST
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
.
Results
| Name | Votes |
|---|---|
| Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left... |
31 |
| Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to... |
16 |
| Gianni Letta Gianni Letta Gianni Letta is an Italian ex politician and journalist.After graduating in law, he started working as a journalist for several daily newspapers, as well as RAI and ANSA.... |
10 |
| Giuliano Ferrara Giuliano Ferrara Giuliano Ferrara is an Italian politician, journalist, founding editor of Il Foglio, and TV presenter.After the militancy in the PCI and PSI, in the nineties has become a supporter of Silvio Berlusconi, and finally one of the most intellectual representatives of Italian Theoconservativism-Life and... |
10 |
| Gino Strada Gino Strada Gino Strada is an Italian war surgeon and founder of the UN-recognized Italian NGO Emergency. Emergency has operated in thirteen war-torn countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and the Central African Republic.- Biography :Dr... |
6 |
| Marco Cavallaro | 5 |
| Marco Matteucci | 4 |
| Mino Martinazzoli | 4 |
| Linda Giuva Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left... |
4 |
| Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly... |
3 |
| Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the... |
3 |
| Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006... |
3 |
| Biagio Di Maria | 3 |
| Roberto Formigoni Roberto Formigoni Roberto Formigoni is an Italian politician, and the current President of Lombardy Region, Italy.-Life and career:Graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan, he studied political economy at the Sorbonne, in Paris.... |
3 |
| Aurelio Garritano | 3 |
| Lino Iannuzzi | 3 |
| Franco Piperno Franco Piperno Franco Piperno is an Italian former communist militant. He is currently an associated professor of Condensed Matter Physics in the University of Calabria..-Biography:Piperno was born at Catanzaro.... |
3 |
| Mirko Tremaglia | 3 |
| Stefano Servadei | 3 |
| Tullio Ancora | 2 |
| Tina Anselmi Tina Anselmi Tina Anselmi, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian politician, and a notable member of the Italian resistance movement during the World War II.-Biography:Tina Anselmi was born in Castelfranco Veneto, province of Treviso.... |
2 |
| Carlo Bertolotti | 2 |
| Rosy Bindi Rosy Bindi Maria Rosaria Bindi, best known as Rosy Bindi is an Italian politician and the current President of the Democratic Party.-Career:... |
2 |
| Vito Gamberale Vito Gamberale Vito Gamberale is an Italian manager.In 1968 he obtained his Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering at La Sapienza University in Rome, and started working as assistant professor at the mechanical Engineering department.... |
2 |
| Lidia Menapace | 2 |
| Barbara Palombelli | 2 |
| Sergio Pininfarina Sergio Pininfarina Sergio Pininfarina is an Italian automobile designer, like his father Battista Farina. After joining his father at Carrozzeria Pininfarina, he quickly became integral to the company, and during his career oversaw many of the designs for which the company is famous... |
2 |
| Other candidates | 37 |
| Blank votes | 770 |
| Invalid votes | 28 |
| Abstentions | 1 |
Fourth ballot (May 10)
The fourth ballot is the first one that requires only a simple majority for a successful election, that is, 505 votes; thus, the Union could elect its own candidate without needing to find agreement with the House of Freedoms.The Union declared its members would vote for Giorgio Napolitano in this ballot. Instead, the House of Freedoms declared its own members would cast a blank vote; however, the decision was not taken unanimously, as the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats clearly showed its approval of Napolitano's candidacy. Former secretary of the party Marco Follini
Marco Follini
Marco Follini is an Italian centre-wing politician.Follini was born in Rome. He was National Secretary of the Democrats' Centre Union party until October 15, 2005...
declared he would vote for Napolitano.
The voting operations, started at 9:30 CEST
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
, resulted in the election of Giorgio Napolitano as President of the Italian Republic.
Results
| Name | Votes |
|---|---|
| Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to... |
543 |
| Umberto Bossi Umberto Bossi Umberto Bossi is an Italian politician, leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy. He is married to Manuela Marrone and has four sons .... |
42 |
| Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left... |
10 |
| Giuliano Ferrara Giuliano Ferrara Giuliano Ferrara is an Italian politician, journalist, founding editor of Il Foglio, and TV presenter.After the militancy in the PCI and PSI, in the nineties has become a supporter of Silvio Berlusconi, and finally one of the most intellectual representatives of Italian Theoconservativism-Life and... |
7 |
| Gianni Letta Gianni Letta Gianni Letta is an Italian ex politician and journalist.After graduating in law, he started working as a journalist for several daily newspapers, as well as RAI and ANSA.... |
6 |
| Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the... |
5 |
| Roberto Dipiazza Roberto Dipiazza Roberto Dipiazza is an Italian entrepreneur and politician, mayor of Muggia in 1996-2001, and mayor of Trieste in 2001-2011.-Career:... |
3 |
| Sergio Pininfarina Sergio Pininfarina Sergio Pininfarina is an Italian automobile designer, like his father Battista Farina. After joining his father at Carrozzeria Pininfarina, he quickly became integral to the company, and during his career oversaw many of the designs for which the company is famous... |
3 |
| Other candidates | 10 |
| Blank votes | 347 |
| Invalid votes | 14 |
| Abstentions | 10 |
House of Freedoms
- Gianni LettaGianni LettaGianni Letta is an Italian ex politician and journalist.After graduating in law, he started working as a journalist for several daily newspapers, as well as RAI and ANSA....
, former presidential undersecretary under the three governments of Silvio BerlusconiSilvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
;
The Union
- Giuliano AmatoGiuliano AmatoGiuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...
, former Prime Minister of Italy (two times), now Minister of the Interior with the Olive TreeOlive TreeThe Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
; - Massimo D'AlemaMassimo D'AlemaMassimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
, former Prime Minister of Italy, now President and prominent member of the Democrats of the LeftDemocrats of the LeftThe Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
. He received support from most of the coalition, including his party, the Daisy-Democracy is Freedom, the Party of Italian CommunistsParty of Italian CommunistsThe Party of Italian Communists is a communist political party in Italy. Its long-time leader is Oliviero Diliberto.-Foundation and early years:...
and others, but was also criticized by several parts of the opposition; - Anna FinocchiaroAnna FinocchiaroAnna Finocchiaro Fidelbo is an Italian politician. She is the Democratic Party's leader in the Senate. She served as Minister for Equal Opportunities in the cabinet of Romano Prodi from 1996-98.-Biography:...
, former Minister for Gender Equality, member of the Democrats of the Left and leader of the Olive Tree in the Senate; - Franco MariniFranco MariniFranco Marini is an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-left Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2008 he was President of the Italian Senate.-Biography:...
, incumbent Speaker of the Italian Senate, member of the Daisy-Democracy is Freedom party. On May 4, he announced he did not intend to run for the office. - Giorgio NapolitanoGiorgio NapolitanoGiorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
, lifetime Senator, now member of the Democrats of the Left, officially endorsed by the Union on May 7; - Franca RameFranca RameFranca Rame is an Italian theatre actress and playwright. She is also the wife of Nobel Prize winning author Dario Fo and the mother of the writer Jacopo Fo.- Life :...
, theater actress, wife of Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner Dario FoDario FoDario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...
, Senator of the Italy of ValuesItaly of ValuesItaly of Values is a centrist, populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party, which is affiliated to the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party , is headed by former Mani pulite prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996.The party aims to gather and give...
, proposed by party leader Antonio Di PietroAntonio Di PietroAntonio Di Pietro is an Italian politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament, an Italian Senator, and Minister of the Prodi Government...
.
Criticisms and reactions
There have been some criticisms voiced from all the political spectrum about the Presidential elections, most of it coming from the minority right-wing coalition. Since the speakers of both houses of parliament were chosen by the winning coalition, the House of Freedoms demanded an impartial candidate for the role of President. The Union stressed the fact that the Italian Constitution demands that the President be a defender of the Constitution, hinting that such a quality was scarce among the opposition members.Most of the criticism focused on how the President should have been selected. Surprisingly, given the enormous heat and animosity shown in the preceding general elections
Italian general election, 2006
In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
, the two coalition leaders organized a meeting to try to come up with a candidate that was acceptable to both. The attempts failed quickly, with the Union arguing that the House of Freedom was not interested in any candidate, and the House of Freedom arguing that the Union was not proposing any that were acceptable.
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
, the leader of the opposition, was the most vocal opponent of any candidate that came from the former Italian Communist Party
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
, staying true to his anti-communist stance taken in the elections. His allies, especially the Democrats' Centre Union (UDC), openly disagreed with his intransigence but vowed to stick with their ally decision. Yet when Napolitano was elected, Silvio Berlusconi gave an interview to one of his political magazines Panorama
Panorama (Italian magazine)
Panorama is a right-wing Italian-language news magazine.-Ownership:The magazine is published by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, the largest Italian publishing house...
saying that the UDC betrayed him by letting 60 of his electors cast a blank vote at the first ballot, instead of supporting the official candidate Gianni Letta
Gianni Letta
Gianni Letta is an Italian ex politician and journalist.After graduating in law, he started working as a journalist for several daily newspapers, as well as RAI and ANSA....
. When the UDC argued that this could have meant the end of the Coalition, Silvio Berlusconi quickly changed his stance by saying, as he did many other times before, that he was "misunderstood" and that he never gave that journalist an interview.
The candidacy of Massimo D'Alema was supported by his party, the Democrats of the Left
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
, and by others parties of the coalition, such as the Party of Italian Communists
Party of Italian Communists
The Party of Italian Communists is a communist political party in Italy. Its long-time leader is Oliviero Diliberto.-Foundation and early years:...
, the Communist Refoundation Party
Communist Refoundation Party
The Communist Refoundation Party is a communist Italian political party. Its current secretary is Paolo Ferrero....
and the Daisy-Democracy is Freedom, but adversed by others, such as the Rose in the Fist
Rose in the Fist
The Rose in the Fist was a coalition of parties in Italy.The RnP was composed of the social-democratic Italian Democratic Socialists , the libertarian Italian Radicals and some independent members gathered in the Association for the Rose in the Fist The Rose in the Fist was a coalition of...
, arguing that his candidacy was driven by a particracy's
Particracy
Particracy is a de facto form of government where one or more political parties dominate the political process, rather than citizens and/or individual politicians.-Rationale and types:...
mentality. Also, part of the left-wing coalition considered D'Alema far too willing to conduct backroom deals with the opposition. Some moderate journalists liked D'Alema because his presidency would have given Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
a stabler government, since the biggest party of the Union had not been rewarded with any istitutional position.
For the opposition coalition, while Silvio Berlusconi was vehemently opposed to D'Alema presidency, some of his aides, such as Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri is an influential Italian politician and senior advisor to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi...
, and some aligned newspapers, such as Il Foglio
Il Foglio
Il Foglio is a Italian centre-right daily newspaper, with circulation of about 13,000 copies per day. It was founded in 1996 by the Italian journalist and politician Giuliano Ferrara, after he left as editor of the magazine Panorama- Characteristics :...
, campaigned for D'Alema. However, the official stance of the centre-right was that D'Alema, being an important left-wing politician and having participated in the electoral campaign, was inadequate for the role of President, a role that it is supposed to be super partes.
However, when the Union proposed Giorgio Napolitano, a senator for life that in recent years had not had a prominent role in politics, the House of Freedom objected that the Union should have presented a list of names. In the end, the House of Freedom chose to cast a blank vote. Some right-wing newspapers protested the communist background of the new President.