Renzi Corners Berlusconi as Italy President Vote Drags On
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Lawmakers have convened in Rome for the second day to choose a new Italian president as Premier Matteo Renzi’s surprise decision to propose a senior judge for the head of state tests a year-old alliance with three-time premier Silvio Berlusconi.
Renzi succeeded in unifying his Democratic Party behind 73-year-old Constitutional Court judge Sergio Mattarella, a choice that didn’t win the endorsement of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party. The third vote by 1,009 presidential electors is scheduled for 3 p.m. local time. Most lawmakers cast blank ballots in the first two rounds Thursday and Friday morning amid the political maneuvering.