Rome - Italy's president began talks with
political leaders on Thursday to seek a way out of the political
crisis caused by the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Sergio Mattarella, a 75-year-old former constitutional court
judge, must decide if someone can lead Italy to elections
scheduled for 2018, or whether an interim government should
serve until a snap vote can be held in spring.
Renzi tendered his resignation on Wednesday after a bruising
defeat in a referendum on which he had staked his political
future.
Mattarella's first consultations were with the leaders of
both houses of parliament, and neither commented afterwards.
Mattarella, a former Christian Democrat, also met with his
more interventioniest predecessor, 91-year-old Giorgio
Napolitano, who asked Renzi to form a government in 2014.
Napolitano also did not comment.
Meetings will expand to parliamentary parties on Friday and
wrap up on Saturday evening.
The process is a familiar one in Italy, which has a
notorious history of government collapses, but it is the first
since the Sicilian Mattarella took office last year after a
career in politics which began after the mafia assassinated his
politician brother in 1980.
Mattarella could wait until Monday to make his decision
known, a source close to the president said. Renzi has ruled out
-- for the moment -- staying on as a caretaker, a parliamentary
source said.
Most parties, including Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) which
holds the most seats in parliament, appear to favour an early
vote, which would add Italy to a list of major European
countries - including France, Germany and the Netherlands -
facing a national ballot in 2017.
So far markets have taken Italy's political turmoil in their
stride. Even Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which
looks likely to require government intervention to survive, saw
its shares close up more than 4 percent on Thursday after it
asked the European Central Bank for a three-week extension to
its rescue plan.
On Tuesday, Mattarella unexpectedly dictated two conditions
that delay any vote until spring: the
Constitutional Court must rule on the lower house's current
voting law, a decision not expected before a Jan. 24.
Subsequently parliament must draft new election rules for
both houses, Mattarella indicated. Considering 45 days for
campaigning are set aside by law, it would be difficult to hold
an election before April.
The consultations allow Mattarella to test parliamentary
waters, but Renzi's majority - and his input as leader of the PD
- are key to what happens next.
On Wednesday, Renzi said the PD would only participate in a
government intended to last until 2018 if it was backed by the
main forces in parliament, a prospect most of them have already
ruled out. Otherwise, early elections should be held as soon as
possible, he said.
The rightist Northern League and anti-establishment 5-Star
Movement renewed calls for immediate elections on Thursday.
Because of the strong push for an early vote, Mattarella is
widely expected to ask a member of Renzi's cabinet, or a
politician from his Democratic Party, to put together an interim
government.