Here is the complete text of the awaited note from the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano.
"The fundamental concern, common to the vast majority of Italians, is the development of government action which, with the active and qualified support of Parliament, guides the country along the path of a decisive revival of the economy and employment" . This is what can be read in a statement by the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano.
“In this sense – continued the Head of State – the Chambers have operated until recent days, defining important measures; and it is essential to proceed decisively along the path undertaken, also in terms of institutional reforms and the rapid (in its most urgent aspects) revision of the electoral law. Only in this way can trust in Italy and its capacity for progress be increased. On the other hand, a crisis in the government laboriously formed for just over 100 days would be fatal; the country's relapse into instability and uncertainty would prevent us from seizing and consolidating the possibilities of economic recovery that have finally emerged, moreover in a national and European context that is still critical and complex. I therefore warmly appreciated the reaffirmation - by all the majority forces - of support for the Letta government and its programme, over and above the sometimes sterile and harmful political controversies, and specific differences that could however be overcome. Of course, I am not hiding the risks that may arise from the political tensions that have arisen following the final sentence handed down by the Court of Cassation against Silvio Berlusconi. I am referring, in particular, to the tendency to agitate, in opposition to that sentence, arbitrary and impracticable hypotheses of dissolution of the Chambers. Any definitive sentence, and the consequent obligation to apply it, can only be acknowledged. This therefore applies in the case today in the center of public attention as in any other. At this moment it is legitimate for reservations and disagreements to appear with respect to the conclusions reached by the Court of Cassation in the wake of the assessments already prevailing in the two previous levels of judgement; and it is understandable that - especially in the area of the PDL - disturbance and concern emerge about the prison sentence of a personality who led the government (a fact that already happened in the not so distant past) and who, moreover, remained the undisputed leader of a political formation of undeniable importance. But in the exercise of freedom of opinion and the right to criticize, the limit of recognition of the principle of the division of powers and of the essential function of monitoring legality which belongs to the judiciary in its independence must never be violated. Nor is it acceptable that forms of retaliation against the functioning of democratic institutions are aired. I am speaking today - although some fulfilments consequent to the decision of the Cassation are still missing - as I have been called into question, for several days, as President of the Republic, and often in a pressing and spirited way, for answers or "solutions" that I should and could give as a guarantee of a normal development, in the near future, of democratic dialectics and political competition. With regard to the final sentence, it should first of all be reiterated that the legislation in force excludes Silvio Berlusconi from having to expiate the prison sentence imposed on him in prison and sanctions precise alternatives, which can be modulated taking into account the needs of the specific case. As for the expectations raised towards me, it should be clarified that no question was addressed to me which I had to answer. Article 681 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, aimed at regulating the provisions of clemency that the President of the Republic may grant pursuant to the Constitution, indicates the procedures for presenting the relative application. A pardon or commutation of the sentence can be granted by the President of the Republic even in the absence of a request. But in the exercise of that power, of which the Constitutional Court with a 2006 sentence confirmed his exclusive ownership, the Head of State cannot disregard specific legal provisions, nor the jurisprudence and constitutional customs as well as the practice followed in precedence. And in recent years, in considering, accepting or dropping requests for pardons, it has always been considered essential to present a request as provided for by the aforementioned article of the Cpp.
It is essential that we can proceed in a climate of common awareness of the imperatives of justice and the overall needs of the country. And while it will be up to Silvio Berlusconi and his party to decide on the further development - in the ways that will be legitimately possible - of the leadership function attributed to him up to now, the consideration of the perspective that Italy needs will have to be paramount for everyone. A perspective of serenity and cohesion, in order to be able to address basic problems of the State and society, including those of justice reform that have been on the agenda for some time. All political forces should contribute to the development of a competition for alternating leadership of the country that overcomes the long-recognized distortions of a destructive confrontation, and facilitates that mutual listening and those possibilities for convergence that the general interest of the country requires . Every gesture of respect for the duties to be observed in a rule of law, every realistic acknowledgment of more than mature needs for relaxation and renewal in political relations, will be important in overcoming the current difficult moment”.
