Italian lawmakers elected Sergio Mattarella, a Constitutional Court justice widely considered to be above the political fray, as the nation’s new President on the third day of voting on Saturday. Mattarella’s election as head of State was clinched when he amassed 505 votes —a simple majority. As the count continued, the 73-year-old former minister with centre-left political roots went on to garner 665 votes from the 1,009 eligible electors.
Renzi pushed hard for Mattarella’s election, and some of Renzi’s rebellious Democrats had protested that the premier had imposed his choice on them. So Mattarella’s victory is also a win for Renzi in his bid to close fractious ranks, including former Communists, in the governing coalition’s main party. Supporters of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right opposition forces had said they would cast blank ballots in protest.