Fourth black smoke for the election of the President of the Republic. Never before have the parties seem divided in a climate of increasingly chaos and uncertainty ( THE CHRONICLE ).
The day starts with Matteo Salvini's stop to the candidacy of centrist Pier Ferdinando Casini, and the decision to resort to mass abstention in order to give proof of compactness: what happened only once in history, in 1992.
The candidacy of the former foreign minister of the Berlusconi government Franco Frattini is advancing: a name that, relaunched by Matteo Salvini and opposed by the Democratic Party, has received the coldness of Fi and Fdi. The Northern League, in the umpteenth attempt to bring "his" name to the Colle, is also thinking of Giampiero Massolo, ambassador and president of Fincantieri, and of the jurist Sabino Cassese.
Throughout the call, rumors about the candidacy of Elisabetta Belloni, head of the secret services ( WHO IS ), are chased in the knots. But there are those who invite not to exclude Giuliano Amato until the very end. A screwing up in which the pressure on the name of Draghi rises, who spoke with Silvio Berlusconi and saw Antonio Tajani, blue coordinator, at Palazzo Chigi. A "cordial" conversation where, however, the position of Forza Italia was reiterated: "He must continue his work at the head of the government".
In this scenario, the votes gathered today in the ballot box for Sergio Mattarella rise to 166, a message for all leaders: if you don't hurry, an encore is the only way.
