The re-election of Sergio Mattarella as president saves Italy’s governing coalition

days and eight ballots, Sergio Mattarella was re-elected president of Italy on January 29th. In one way, the choice of the electoral college of 1,009 national lawmakers and regional delegates was absurd, since the 80-year-old incumbent had repeatedly indicated that he did not want a second term. But viewed from another perspective, his reinstatement was inevitable and welcome: any other outcome would have destabilised the governing coalition and perhaps have precipitated an early election.The decision was almost forced on party leaders by their rank and file, who cast 387 votes for the popular Mr Mattarella in the penultimate ballot. In the end, it was backed by all the parties in the broad, multiparty government headed by , a former head of the European Central Bank. That, in turn, averts the collapse of the coalition and a snap general election, in which, the polls suggest, the populist right would have triumphed.