ROME, 11 May 2006 — The election yesterday of former communist Giorgio Napolitano to the post of president of the Italian Republic represents a double victory for Romano Prodi and a setback for outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
First and foremost, it strengthens Prodi’s future center-left government, which faces a rocky ride following its narrowest of victories in last month’s general election.
Secondly, it finally gives full institutional legitimacy to the heirs of Italy’s once mighty Communist Party in spite of Berlusconi’s claims that they still represent a threat to democracy.
A highly respected life senator, Napolitano was backed by Prodi’s Union coalition and was elected with 543 votes during a fourth round of voting.
The show of support was better than some had anticipated.
Napolitano received 38 votes more than the required majority of 505 and the result suggested he may have succeeded in intercepting the votes of some right-wingers.
Above all, it confirmed that Prodi had, at least for the time being, succeeded in balancing the conflicting interests present in his coalition, which comprises nine parties ranging from diehard communists to moderate post-Christian Democrats.
The April 9-10 general election handed Prodi a precarious parliamentary majority, prompting many to suspect his government would be short-lived.
But the display of unity shown by his allies during the presidential vote gives him a much-needed boost as he prepares to put together his Cabinet.
Even more importantly, the election has produced dangerous cracks in the rival House of Freedoms coalition headed by Berlusconi, with some of his allies openly criticizing his decision not to back the left’s candidate.
“This is good news for Prodi and bad news for Berlusconi,” said James Walston, a professor of political science at Rome’s American University.
After enjoying more than 10 years as the undisputed leader of Italy’s center-right, Berlusconi is now having to watch himself from the rising ambitions of once unswervingly loyal allies like National Alliance leader Gianfranco Fini and Pierferdinando Casini, head of the centrist UDC party.
“We acknowledge that we represent a minority within the House of Freedoms. But we still believe not voting for Napolitano was a mistake,” said Casini, who like Fini is tipped to replace Berlusconi once the 69-year-old leader bows out, ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
After his general election defeat, and with local elections looming, Berlusconi will have to rely on all of his powers of persuasion to avoid a meltdown of his coalition in the coming weeks.
But the presidential election is also significant in another way, as Napolitano is the first former communist in history to have been elected to Italy’s highest institutional post.
Napolitano began his political career fighting fascism and became one of the most influential officials of the once-powerful Italian Communist Party (PCI) before playing a key role in steering it toward social democracy.
In many ways, his personal history mirrors that of his party.
For decades, the biggest communist force in Western Europe looked up to the Soviet Union. It received secret funds from Moscow and its officials, Napolitano among them, backed the Soviet Union’s invasion of Hungary, in 1956.
But after 1969, under former leader Enrico Berlinguer, the PCI progressively distanced itself from the Warsaw Pact and firmly established itself as a Westward-looking party, seeing NATO as a safeguard against the risk of coups d’etat by Italian neo-fascist groups.
