The day of Colle has arrived, and Renzi makes the official candidacy of the majority party official to the big voters of the Democratic Party: "He is Sergio Mattarella and he is not a candidate, he is the candidate, the definitive one", said the premier in front of the audience of the Democratic Party, The choice was unanimously approved by the Pd assembly. But Forza Italia, through the mouth of Paolo Romani, gives a stop: “It's a break in method – said the coordinator Paolo Romani – We will not vote for Mattarella. There is no margin”. Forza Italia, he adds, will vote blank ballot in the first three votes. This would leave the door open for possible negotiations ahead of the fourth ballot in which the quorum drops to a simple majority. In any case, the former knight also wants to confront Angelino Alfano and will meet him right now.
At 15 pm the session of the 1009 electors begins for the first ballot, the one for which (possibly together with the next two) a majority of two thirds of the voters is required. “We need a candidate with a straight back who knows how to say no”, continued Renzi in the assembly and clarified: “Once the choice has been made, however, we don't have fun burning names. Because then there will be no other Pd candidate ”.
Renzi therefore, strengthened this time by the full support of the party (“We must redeem 2013”) officially launches Sergio Mattarella, 73: net of the votes, certainly missing at this point, from Forza Italia, the premier can count on 589 votes (it is the ok has arrived from Sel, Gal and some exponents of M5S). The centrists of Civic Choice are also in favour. Insufficient for the 673 consensus required in the first three votes, but largely sufficient for the threshold of 505 from the fourth ballot onwards.
