In Italy’s interest to have Draghi president, vote new govt – minister to paper

 It is in Italy’s interest for Prime Minister Mario Draghi to become the next head of state and for the country to hold elections as soon as possible to form a new government, the industry minister said on Monday.

“I would like for Draghi to stay there all his life, but the point is that he can’t. As soon as sensitive political decisions will arrive, Draghi’s coalition will collapse,” Giancarlo Giorgetti told daily La Stampa in an interview.

He added that Draghi would not be able to bear the “permanent electoral campaign” that would start in January, just over a year before the end of the legislature, in March 2023.

“The music will change, parties will stop supporting him and will concentrate on voters,” Giorgetti said.

The term of Italy’s current president, Sergio Mattarella, is due to expire at the end of January. In the last six months of his seven-year term – known as the white semester – the head of state cannot dissolve parliament and call a new election.

On Thursday business leaders asked Draghi to stay in power for as long as possible, urging him to shun the temptation of becoming head of state, and instead keep on running the country.

Photo: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (L) arrives at the Quirinal Palace. EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MEO