The framers of the Constitution of Italy intended for the president to be an elder statesman of some stature. Article 84 states that any citizen who is fifty or older on election day and enjoys civil and political rights can be elected president. The article also states that the presidency is incompatible with any other office, therefore the president-elect must resign any other position before being sworn in. The 1948 Constitution does not put any term limit on the presidency, although until 2013 no president ever ran for a second term. On 20 April 2013, President Giorgio Napolitano agreed to run for a second term in an attempt to break the parliamentary deadlock in the 2013 presidential elections and was duly reelected the same day. However, he made it clear that he would not serve his full term and resigned in January 2015.
Election
The President of the Italian Republic is elected by an electoral college of about 1,000 members. It comprises both chambers of the Italian Parliament—the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic—meeting in joint session, combined with 58 special electors appointed by the regional councils of each of the 20 regions of Italy. Three representatives come from each region, so as to guarantee representation for all localities and minorities. The electoral college thus consists of:
According to the Constitution, the election must be held by a secret ballot, with the senators, deputies and regional representatives all voting. A two-thirds vote is required to elect on any of the first three rounds of balloting and after that a simple majority suffices. The number of rounds has often been large thanks to the secret ballot and fragmented nature of the Italian Parliament The election is presided over by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, who calls for the public counting of the votes. The vote is held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, seat of the Chamber of Deputies, which is expanded and re-configured for the event.
Presidential mandate
The President of the Italian Republic assumes office after taking an oath before the Italian Parliament and delivering a presidential address. The term of the President of the Italian Republic lasts seven years. This prevents any officeholder from being reelected by the same houses, which have a five-year mandate, also granting some freedom from excessive political ties to the appointing body. The Italian president's term may end by voluntary resignation, death, permanent disability due to serious illness, or dismissal as for crimes of high treason or an attack on the Constitution. A former president of the Republic is called President emeritus of the Republic and appointed Senator for life. In the absence of the President of the Republic, including travel abroad, presidential functions are performed by the President of the Senate.
Role
The Constitution lays out the duties and powers of the President of the Republic, to include the following:
In foreign affairs:
* Accrediting and receiving diplomatic functionaries.
In practice, the president's office is mostly—though not entirely—ceremonial. The Constitution provides that nearly all presidential acts must be countersigned by a member of the government as most presidential acts are only formal and real political responsibility is upon the government. Many of the others are duties that he is required to perform. However, pardons and commutations have been recognized as autonomous powers of the president. Despite the seemingly ceremonial nature of the position the president's role still has important implications. His ability to send a piece of legislation back to Parliament is not taken lightly by legislators, who are unlikely to ignore it unless the legislation is critical. Moreover, in times of political instability the president has significant leeway in appointing prime ministers, such as when President Scalfaro appointed Lamberto Dini as prime minister against the wishes of outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, or when President Napolitano appointed Mario Monti in 2011 and Enrico Letta in 2013. This leeway extends even further to cabinet appointments, as in 2018 when President Mattarella blocked the appointment of Paolo Savona to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Mattarella felt that Savona's Euroscepticism would endanger Italy's relationship with the EU; he took the line that as the guardian of the Constitution, he could allow this to not happen.
Succession
According to Article 86 of the Constitution, in all the cases in which the president is unable to perform the functions of the office, these shall be performed by the president of the Senate, who would temporarily serve as Acting President of Italy. In the event of permanent incapacity, death in office or resignation of the president, the president of the Chamber of Deputies shall call an election of a new president within fifteen days, notwithstanding the longer term envisaged during the dissolution of the Parliament or in the three months preceding dissolution.
