Factor X: the 'reality' of the Italian Presidency that can star Sergio Mattarella again

• Elections Italy faces the final phase to elect a president between traps, maneuvers and fears of betrayal

Mattarella rings again.

Much.

He followed the first days from Palermo, but

.

Without any contact with parties or candidates.

They secure theirs.

The floating thesis yesterday in the Piazza del Parlement, defended by columnists, analysts or presenters, is that in the event of a total shock in the election of the new president of Italy, of blockade, the only way forward is

this is, the leading figures, first among peers.

And there are few of that: an encore from the current president or, probably,

, a man of power, of authority, but without a party.

The 'premier' lets himself be loved, he is putting the name of his collaborators in all kinds of pools (such as

, the person in charge of the secret services), he raises his head, without burning himself but also without getting any closer.

The problem with the Draghi option, unlike all the others, is not his past, but his future.

. He has to offer, or guarantee, the parties a solid and satisfactory path, because his appointment implies many things. A total change of government, of ministers, of balances. Of laws. Or even a snap election. And when thousands of people risk their income, their career and their leadership, the image, turning an election into a 'talent show', is the least of the worries.

There is a lesson to be learned when in Italy the most far-right parties, after decades of turning politics into the most fascinating spectacle in the world, demand seriousness.

When

, who called the most self-destructive and absurd referendum in recent European history and brought down

's government for fun , complains that his rivals "have turned the elections for the President of the Republic into X Factor auditions ".

When Cinco Estrellas becomes more institutional than its critics.

When from il Quirinale they lose patience and reiterate that the president, during the elections of his successor, has nothing to say, nothing to comment on, nothing to filter.

The problem, being Italy,

The fourth day of voting in the Parliament of Rome (the first in which the simple majority was valid, 505 votes) ended, once again, with black smoke.

Up to 441 abstentions, as the main forces had announced, and no less than 166 ballots for

himself , who insists that his era is over and that he will not repeat it, no matter how much deputies and senators write their last name to pressure others.

, with the friction causing more and more sparks.

With constant meetings trying to decipher the formula.

Because it is there, and everyone knows it, but it is not a question of finding it, but of building it.

The center right, led by Salvini, returned to the game of giving names (such as those of prominent former ministers of

, such as

and the explosive

) while reiterating that Draghi must continue as 'premier'.

's center left

plays without giving them, giving the impression at times that he has the baton and at times that he doesn't know anything.

Conte's faction in Five Stars has fun knocking them all down, but without contributing.

And meanwhile, Draghi, without raising his voice, multiplies the contacts.

Yesterday he spoke with Silvio Berlusconi, with the excuse of the delicate state of health of 'Il Cavaliere', who since he announced his resignation has been in and out of the hospital.

And he did it in the afternoon with

, another of Forza Italia's heavyweights.

It is normal for a prime minister to chat with the heads of the groups, but in the country there is a sector, the most legalistic, the institutional, that looks with horror at the president of the Council marketing his ascent to the Quirinale.

In the theater of Palazzo Montecitorio, where since Monday 1,008 big voters (some less because of the Covid actually) have gathered every day between deputies, senators and regional delegates, without real news, without pacts or a clear way out, everyone tries to read the coffee grounds, the gestures.

The tone in meetings or the lack of them.

The climate is more unsettled, fatigue is palpable, irritation is growing, but that does not necessarily mean that the agreement is further away or more difficult than before. On Friday, first thing in the morning, those responsible will meet to decide on the protocol.

It takes more than five hours, with voters entering in groups of 50, handwriting names in secret, with the speaker then reading the ballot papers one by one. Some want two votes a day to try to accelerate, relying on white smoke on Saturday at the latest, but it is not clear.

.

De Nicola, Ciampi, Cossiga, Mattarella himself, Napolitano in 2006, Gronchi and Einaudi had already started by now, after four attempts.

The next milestone is in the Napolitano of 2013 (at the sixth), the man who for the first and only time in history had to repeat, almost around 90 years old, due to the lack of consensus.

And nobody wants to get to that, but it is not ruled out.

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