On 31 January 2015, Mattarella was elected to the presidency on the fourth ballot, supported by thecentre-left coalition majority led by the PD andcentrist parties.[3] Despite having initially ruled out a second term,[4][5] he was re-elected on 29 January 2022, becoming the second Italian president to be re-elected, the first being Napolitano.[6] As of 2025, five prime ministers have served under his presidency:Matteo Renzi, at that time the PD leader and the main sponsor of Mattarella's presidential candidacy;[7]Paolo Gentiloni, a leading member of the PD who succeeded Renzi after his resignation in 2016;[8]Giuseppe Conte, at that time anindependent politician who governed both with right-wing and left-wing coalitions in two consecutive cabinets;[9]Mario Draghi, a banker and formerpresident of the European Central Bank who was appointed by Mattarella to lead anational unity government following Conte's resignation;[10] andGiorgia Meloni, Italy's first ever female prime minister and the most right-wing since 1945 as leader of thecentre-right coalition that won the general election in September 2022.[11]
During his tenure, Italy faced the aftermath of theGreat Recession and the severe2015 European migrant crisis,[12] both of which deeply marked Italian political, economic, and social life, bringing about the rise ofpopulist parties. Moreover, Italy became one of the countries worst affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020, being the first country in the Western world to implement anational lockdown to stop the spread of the disease.[13][14] During his second term, he faced growing geopolitical tensions in Europe betweenNATO andRussia, consistently reaffirming his staunchpro-Europeanist andAtlanticist positions.[15] Like his predecessor Napolitano, Mattarella has been accused of wielding the largely ceremonial role of head of state in an executive manner; his successful opposition to the appointment ofPaolo Savona asMinister of Economy and Finance led to a constitutional crisis and threats of impeachment,[16] and he twice intervened in government formations by appointing his own candidates for prime minister (Gentiloni in 2016 and Draghi in 2021) in lieu of calling new elections.[17][18] He has also been praised for his political mediation skills and abilities,[19] as well as his impartiality.[20][21] Despite controversies, his presidency and personal popularity have garnered high approval ratings.[22][23]
Mattarella was born inPalermo on 23 July 1941 into a prominentSicilian family. His fatherBernardo Mattarella was ananti-fascist who, alongsideAlcide De Gasperi and otherCatholic politicians, foundedChristian Democracy (DC), which dominated the Italian political scene for almost fifty years, with Bernardo serving as a minister several times. Bernardo Mattarella has also been accused of being associated with theSicilian Mafia; however, accusations were always rejected in court.[24][25] His mother Maria Buccellato came from an upper-middle-class family ofTrapani.[26][27]
In 1964, Mattarella graduated with merit with the thesisThe Function of Political Direction.[31] In 1967, he became a lawyer in Palermo, becoming particularly involved inadministrative law.[32] After a few years, Mattarella started teachingparliamentary procedure at theUniversity of Palermo, where he remained until 1983. His academic activity and publications during this period mainly concerned constitutional law topics, the intervention ofSicilian government in economy,bicameralism,legislative procedure, expropriation allowance, evolution of the Sicilian regional administration, and controls on local authorities.[33]
In 1966, Mattarella married Marisa Chiazzese, daughter of Lauro Chiazzese, former rector of the University of Palermo, with whom he had three children:Laura, Francesco, and Bernardo.[34] On 6 January 1980, his older brotherPiersanti Mattarella, who was also a DC politician andpresident of Sicily since 1978, was killed by theSicilian Mafia in Palermo.[35] This event deeply changed Mattarella's life, and he left his academic career to enter politics.[36]
One of the first important positions that Mattarella held was the head of the board of arbitrators of the DC, quickly reconstituted at the end of 1981 following thePropaganda Due scandal and the establishment of the related parliamentary commission of inquiry, chaired byTina Anselmi. The internal body of the party had been charged with identifying the militants registered in theMasonic lodge ofLicio Gelli to expel or suspend them, having violated the statute of the party that prohibited registration toMasonic lodges.[37] Mattarella's parliamentary career began in 1983, when he was elected member of theChamber of Deputies with nearly 120,000 votes in the constituency ofPalermo.[38] As a deputy, Mattarella joined the left-leaning faction of the DC known asmorotei. The faction, close toAldo Moro,[39] supported an agreement with theItalian Communist Party (PCI) led byEnrico Berlinguer, theHistoric Compromise; his brotherPiersanti Mattarella also supported it.[40][41]
In 1982,Cosa Nostra killed the PCI regional secretaryPio La Torre and the prefect of PalermoCarlo Alberto dalla Chiesa. These tragic events shook the credibility of the regional political system dominated by DC. In the following year, Mattarella was entrusted byCiriaco De Mita, the DC secretary, to "clean up" the Sicilian branch of the party from Mafia control, at a time when mafiamade men likeSalvo Lima andVito Ciancimino were powerful political figures in the region.[42] In 1985, he helped the young lawyerLeoluca Orlando, who had worked alongside his brother Piersanti during his governorship of Sicily, to become the newmayor of Palermo; the two men set out to break the Mafia's hold on the island, transferring budget authority from the corrupt regional government back to the cities and passing a law enforcing the same building standards used in the rest of Italy, thereby making the Mafia's building schemes illegal.[43] In 1987, Mattarella was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies with more than 143,000 votes,[44] remaining close to the left-leaning faction of the party as well as to its secretary De Mita.[45]
On 29 July 1987, Mattarella was appointedItalian Minister for Parliamentary Relations in the government led by the DC prime ministerGiovanni Goria.[46] The government lasted until April 1988, when De Mita was sworn in as new prime minister; however, Mattarella was confirmed as minister.[47] In March 1989, a maxi-competition for professorships was held for the secondary school. Mattarella reorganized also the teaching programs of two-year high schools, completing the first steps of the "Brocca project", the educational system's revision program, undertaken under his predecessorGiovanni Galloni in 1988.[48] Mattarella also oversaw the overall reform of the elementary school, which made the three teachers' module on two classes universal on 23 May 1990, leading to the overcoming of the traditional single teacher.[49]
Mattarella in 1994
On 23 July 1989, Mattarella becameItalian Minister of Education in the sixth cabinet ofGiulio Andreotti.[50] In January 1990, Mattarella led the first National School Conference, which discussed the renewal of the educational system and addressed the issue of school autonomy.[51] At the end of June 1990, the "anti-drug law" was approved, which mandated health education to schools; the combination of the education system and preventive measures, not only in health matters, was part of the programmatic lines that the minister had drawn. On 27 July 1990, Mattarella resigned from his position, together with other ministers, upon theItalian Parliament's passing in 1990 of the Mammì Act, liberalising themedia in Italy, which they saw as a favour to the media magnate Berlusconi.[52]
In 1990, Mattarella was elected deputy secretary of the DC. He left the post two years later to become director ofIl Popolo, the official newspaper of the party.[52] Following the1993 Italian referendum, he drafted the new electoral law nicknamedMattarellum.[53] The electoral law consisted in aparallel voting system, which act as a mixed system, with 75% of seats allocated using afirst-past-the-post electoral system and 25% usingproportional representation, with one round of voting.[54][55]
During those years in the early 1990s, the whole Italian political system was shocked by theTangentopoli corruption scandal;[56] Mattarella was not directly involved in the scandal. In August 1993, he was among the recipients of an investigation's notification that followed the statements of a Sicilian real estate entrepreneur, who accused him. Mattarella resigned from all his posts and was thanked byMino Martinazzoli, the then DC leader, who expressed his support to him. Martinazzoli's statement was publicly criticized byFrancesco Cossiga because it was in contrast with what was done for other politicians involved in the scandal. Mattarella was later acquitted of the charge.[57]
Mattarella was one of the protagonists of the renewal of the DC afterTangentopoli that would lead in January 1994 to the foundation of theItalian People's Party (PPI).[52] In the ensuing1994 Italian general election, in which the newly founded PPI fared poorly, Mattarella was again elected to the Chamber of Deputies.[57] He soon found himself engaged in an internal dispute after the election of new party leaderRocco Buttiglione, who wished to steer the PPI towards an electoral alliance withSilvio Berlusconi'sForza Italia (FI).[52] Following Buttiglione's appointment, Mattarella resigned as director ofIl Popolo in opposition to this policy.[58] In a 20 July 1994 interview withl'Unità, Mattarella considered the new political proposal that was taking shape for a newcentre-left coalition interesting, "especially for those who are very nostalgic for Aldo Moro's political strategy."[59] In 1995, at the height of the internal conflict within the PPI, he addressed Buttiglione, who was stubbornly seeking an alliance with thepolitical right, as "el general coup leader Roquito Butillone" and defined "an irrational nightmare" the hypothesis that Berlusconi's FI could be accepted into theEuropean People's Party.[60]
Mattarella with the U.S. Secretary of DefenseWilliam Cohen in March 2000
Mattarella was one of the first supporters of the economistRomano Prodi at the head of thecentre-left coalition known asThe Olive Tree in the1996 Italian general election. After the electoral victory of the centre-left, Mattarella served as leader of the PPI's parliamentary group.[61] Two years later, when thefirst Prodi government fell, Mattarella was appointed byMassimo D'Alema asDeputy Prime Minister of Italy with responsibility for the secret services, which he tried to reform. The reform of the secret services proposed by Mattarella collected the indications provided by the Jucci Commission, which had worked extensively on the subject, and aimed at strengthening the political control of the services by theprime minister of Italy, in coordination with the Digis (Government Department of Security Information), by removing power from the Interior Ministry and Defense.[62] It was the basis for the 2007 reform of the secret services.[63]
In December 1999, Mattarella was appointedItalian Minister of Defence in thesecond D'Alema government. As Minister of Defence, he supported theNATO bombing of Yugoslavia against the Serbian presidentSlobodan Milošević; he also approved a reform of theItalian Armed Forces which abolishedconscription. After the resignation of D'Alema in 2000, Mattarella kept his position as Minister of Defence in thesecond Amato government.[52] In October 2000, the PPI joined with other centrist parties to form an alliance calledThe Daisy (DL), later to merge into a single party in March 2002. Mattarella was re-elected to the Italian Parliament in the 2001 and 2006 general elections, standing as a candidate for The Daisy in two successive centre-left coalitions: The Olive Tree andThe Union (L'Unione).[57] In 2007, Mattarella was one of the founders of theDemocratic Party (PD), abig tent centre-left party formed from a merger of left-wing and centrist parties that had been part of The Olive Tree, including The Daisy and theDemocrats of the Left (heirs of the PCI).[52]
On 5 October 2011, Mattarella was elected by the Italian Parliament, as is custom,[64] with 572 votes to be a judge of theConstitutional Court of Italy. He was sworn in on 11 October 2011 and served until he was sworn in asPresident of the Italian Republic in February 2015.[57] As a constitutional judge, Mattarella was the rapporteur of thirty-nine sentences issued by the Court and was one of the judges who, on 4 December 2014, declared theItalian electoral law of 2005 unconstitutional due to an excessive majority bonus. He also signed the ruling of the Constitutional Court which concluded that the laws approved by theSicilian Regional Assembly must now directly enter into force in Sicily, without the prior legitimacy control of the State Commissioner.[1]
On 31 January 2015, Mattarella was elected thepresident of Italy at the fourth ballot with 665 votes out of 1,009, with support from theDemocratic Party (PD),New Centre-Right,Civic Choice,Union of the Centre, andLeft Ecology Freedom.[65][66] Mattarella was officially endorsed by the PD after his name was put forward byMatteo Renzi, theprime minister of Italy at the time.[67] He replacedGiorgio Napolitano, who had served for 8 years and 244 days, the longest presidency in the history of the Italian Republic; since Napolitano had resigned on 14 January, Senate presidentPietro Grasso was the Acting President at the time of Mattarella's inauguration on 3 February. Mattarella's first statement as new president was thusly: "My thoughts go first and especially to the difficulties and hopes of our fellow citizens."[68][69][70]
Mattarella's first presidential visit was on the day of his election, when he visited theFosse Ardeatine, where duringWorld War II in 1944 theGerman Nazi occupation troops killed 335 people as a reprisal for anItalian resistance movement attack. Mattarella stated that "Europe and the world must be united to defeat whoever wants to drag us into a new age of terror".[71]
On 13 February, Mattarella appointed Giovanni Grasso as his special counselor for press and communication.[72] On 16 February, he appointedUgo Zampetti as Secretary-General to the Presidency of the Republic, the head of the presidential secretariat.[73] As of 2025, Grasso, a journalist and writer, and Zampetti, acivil servant with a long-time experience within Italian politics, are still holding their posts.[74] On 6 May, he signed the newItalian electoral law, known asItalicum, which provides for atwo-round system based onparty-list proportional representation, corrected by amajority bonus and a 3%election threshold. Candidates run for election in 100 multi-memberconstituencies withopen lists, except for a single candidate chosen by each party who is the first to be elected.[75]
President Mattarella and Prime MinisterMatteo Renzi in 2015
On 4 December 2016, aconstitutional referendum was held in Italy.[76][77] Voters were asked whether they approve aconstitutional law that amends theConstitution of Italy to reform the composition and powers of theParliament of Italy, as well as the division of powers between the state, the regions, and administrative entities.[78][79] The bill, put forward by then-Prime MinisterMatteo Renzi, and his centre-leftDemocratic Party, was first introduced by the government in theSenate on 8 April 2014. After several amendments were made to the proposed law by both the Senate and theChamber of Deputies, the bill received its first approval on 13 October 2015 (Senate) and 11 January 2016 (Chamber of Deputies), and its second and final approval on 20 January (Senate) and 12 April (Chamber of Deputies).[80]
In accordance with Article 138 of the Constitution of Italy, a referendum was called after the formal request of more than one-fifth of the members of both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies,[81] since the constitutional law had not been approved by a qualified majority of two-thirds in each house of parliament in the second vote.[82] 59.11% of voters voted against the constitutional reform, meaning it did not come into effect.[83] This was the third constitutional referendum in thehistory of the Italian Republic; the other two were in 2001, in which the amending law was approved, and in 2006, in which it was rejected.[84]
Following the defeat, Prime Minister Renzi resigned. On 11 December, Mattarella appointed the incumbent Minister of Foreign AffairsPaolo Gentiloni as new head of the government.[85] Gentiloni led a government composed by PD, NCD, and other minor centrist parties, the same majority of Renzi's.[86] According to many political analysts and commentators, the appointment of Gentiloni caused tensions between Mattarella and Renzi, who asked the president todissolve the parliament and call for asnap election in 2017.[87] This version was later confirmed by Renzi during a press conference following the 2018 general election, in which he stated it was an error not to vote in 2017.[88]
Mattarella with Prime MinisterPaolo Gentiloni on 24 March 2018
The March 2018 election resulted in ahung parliament, with no coalitions able to form a majority of seats in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The election was seen as a backlash againstthe Establishment with theFive Star Movement (M5S) and theLeague becoming the two largest parties in the Parliament.[89][90]
After the election's results were known,Luigi Di Maio, leader of the M5S, andMatteo Salvini, secretary of the League, each urged that Mattarella should give him the task of forming a new cabinet because he led the largest party or coalition, respectively.[91] On 5 March,Matteo Renzi declared the PD to be in the opposition during this legislature and resigned as party leader when a new cabinet was formed.[92] On 6 March, Salvini repeated his campaign message that his party would refuse any coalition with the M5S.[93] On 14 March, Salvini offered to govern with the M5S, imposing the condition that League allyForza Italia (FI), led by former prime ministerSilvio Berlusconi, must also take part in any coalition. Di Maio rejected this proposal on the grounds that Salvini was "choosing restoration instead of revolution" because "Berlusconi represents the past".[94] Moreover,Alessandro Di Battista, a prominent M5S leader, denied any possibility of an alliance with FI, describing Berlusconi as the "pure evil of our country".[95]
The consultations between Mattarella and themajor political parties in Italy on 4 and 5 April failed to result in a candidate for the prime minister, forcing Mattarella to hold another round of consultation between 11 and 12 April.[96] On 18 April, Mattarella tasked the President of the SenateElisabetta Casellati with trying to reconcile the issues between thecentre-right coalition and the M5S in order to break the post-election political deadlock and form a fully functional new government;[97][98] however, she failed to find a solution to the conflicts between the two groups, especially between FI and the M5S.[99][100] On 23 April, after Casellati's failure, Mattarella gave an exploratory mandate to the President of the Chamber of DeputiesRoberto Fico to try to create a political agreement between theDemocratic Party (PD) and the M5S.[101][102][103] On 30 April, following an interview of Renzi, the PD's former leader, in which he expressed his strong opposition to an alliance with the M5S, Di Maio called for new elections.[104][105][106]
On 7 May, Mattarella held a third round of government formation talks, after which he formally confirmed the lack of any possible majority (the M5S rejecting an alliance with the centre-right coalition, the PD rejecting an alliance with both M5S and the centre-right coalition, and the League's Salvini refusing to form a government with M5S unless it included Berlusconi's FI, whose presence in the government was explicitly vetoed by the M5S's leader Di Maio); as a result, he stated his intention to soon appoint a "neutral government" (ignoring the M5S and the League's refusal to support such an option) to take over from theGentiloni government, which was considered unable to lead Italy into a second consecutive election, as it represented a majority from a past legislature, and suggested an early election in July, which would be the first summer general election in Italy, as an option in light of the ongoing deadlock.[107] The League and the M5S agreed to hold new elections on 8 July, an option that was rejected by all other parties.[108][109][110]
On 9 May, after a day of rumours, the M5S and the League officially asked Mattarella to give them 24 more hours to strike a coalition agreement between the two parties.[111] Later that same day, Berlusconi stated that FI would not support an M5S–League government on a vote of confidence but would maintain the centre-right alliance, opening the door to a possible majority government between the two parties.[112] On 13 May, the M5S and League reached an agreement in principle on a government program, clearing the way for the formation of a governing coalition between the two parties, but could not agree regarding the members of a government cabinet, most importantly the prime minister. The M5S and League leaders met with Mattarella on 14 May to guide the formation of a new government.[113] At their meeting with Mattarella, both parties asked for an additional week of negotiations to agree on a detailed government program, as well as a prime minister to lead the joint government.[114][115] Both the M5S and the League asked their respective members to vote on the government agreement by the weekend.[116]
On 21 May, aprivate law professor,Giuseppe Conte, was proposed by Di Maio and Salvini for the role ofPrime Minister of Italy.[117][118][119] Despite reports in the Italian press suggesting that Mattarella still had significant reservations about the direction of the new government,[120] Conte was invited to the Quirinal Palace on 23 May to receive the presidential mandate to form a new cabinet.[121][122] In the traditional statement after the appointment, Conte said that he would be the "defense lawyer ofItalian people".[123]
On 27 May, Conte renounced his mandate due to conflicts between Salvini and Mattarella. Salvini had proposed university professorPaolo Savona asItalian Minister of Economy and Finances, but Mattarella strongly opposed the appointment, considering Savona tooEurosceptic and anti-German.[124] In his speech after Conte's resignation, Mattarella declared that the two parties wanted to bring Italy out of theeurozone and that, as the guarantor of the Italian constitution and the country's interest and stability, he could not allow this. Mattarella subsequently gave economistCarlo Cottarelli the presidential mandate to form a new government.[125][126][127]
Mattarella's decision prompted furious reactions from the M5S, who called for Mattarella'simpeachment, a move also supported by opposition partyBrothers of Italy.[128] The League did not support this action.[129] Calls for impeachment were strongly criticized by Italian and international press. Luciano Fontana (editor ofCorriere della Sera) defended Mattarella and said that "Di Maio and Salvini are responsible for this crisis", while Mario Calabresi (editor ofla Repubblica) dismissed impeachment proposals as "delirious", andLa Stampa called Di Maio and Meloni's proposal "extremely irresponsible".[130]HuffPost editorLucia Annunziata dismissed Di Maio and Salvini as "liars",[131] while news magazineL'Espresso called them "subversive", andLe Monde praised Mattarella as an "intransigent guardian of the Constitution".[132] The president was also defended byThe Guardian,Libération, andDer Spiegel.[133] German business newspaperHandelsblatt titled "Forza Mattarella!" ("Go Mattarella!")[134]Marco Travaglio andMaurizio Belpietro (editors ofIl Fatto Quotidiano andLa Verità) criticized Mattarella's move as an abuse but recognized that it was not sufficient to start an impeachment procedure.[135][136] After a few days, the M5S and the League agreed not to propose Savona as finance minister; on 31 May, Conte received again the presidential mandate to form the new cabinet.[137] The new government was sworn in on 1 June.[138]
President Mattarella during the August 2019 consultations
In August 2019, Deputy Prime Minister Salvini launched a motion of no confidence against Conte, after growing tensions within the majority.[139] Many political analysts believe the no-confidence motion was an attempt to force early elections to improve the League's standing in theItalian Parliament, ensuring that Salvini would become the next prime minister.[140] On 20 August, following the parliamentary debate in which Conte accused Salvini of being a political opportunist who "had triggered the political crisis only to serve his personal interest",[141] the prime minister resigned his post to President Mattarella.[142] On the following day, Mattarella started the consultations with parliamentary groups.[142]
During the round of consultations between Mattarella and theparliamentary groups, a possible new majority emerged, between the M5S and theDemocratic Party (PD).[143] On 28 August, the PD's leaderNicola Zingaretti favored keeping Conte at the head of the new government.[144] On the following day, Mattarella received Conte to give him the task of forming a new cabinet.[145] On 4 September, Conte introduced his new cabinet, which was sworn in at the Quirinal Palace on the following day.[146] On 9 September 2019, the Chamber of Deputies expressed its confidence in the government with 343 votes in favour, 263 against, and 3 abstentions.[147][148] On 10 September 2019, in the second vote of confidence in the Senate, 169 lawmakers voted in favour of the new government and 133 voted against.[149]
Mattarella andMario Draghi at the Quirinal Palace in February 2021
In January 2021,Matteo Renzi, former prime minister and leader ofItalia Viva (IV), who split from the PD in 2019, revoked his party's support to the government of Conte, who did not resign immediately.[150] On 18 and 19 January, Renzi's party abstained and the government won the key confidence votes in the Chamber and in the Senate but failed in reaching anabsolute majority in the Senate.[151] On 26 January, Prime Minister Conte resigned from his office, prompting President Mattarella to start consultations for the formation of a new government.[152]
In February, when the consultations for the formation of a Conte's third government failed, Mattarella gaveMario Draghi, formerpresident of the European Central Bank, the task of forming agovernment of national unity.[153][154][155] On 3 February, Draghi accepted with reservation the task of forming a new cabinet and started the consultations with the presidents of the two houses.[156] After successful negotiations with parties including FI, the League, the M5S, and the PD, Draghi was sworn in as the prime minister on 13 February,[157] pledging to oversee effective implementation of COVID-19 economic stimulus.[158] Draghi's government has been described as anational unity government,[159] as well as "president's government", a cabinet sponsored by and implemented by Mattarella.[18]
During Mattarella's presidency, Italy was hit by a major outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, Italy became one of the countries with the highest number of confirmed cases ofCOVID-19.[160] As of January 2025[update], there have been more than 26 million COVID-19 cases confirmed and almost 200,000 deaths; although the pandemic mainly started inLombardy,Emilia-Romagna,Piedmont, andVeneto,[161] it then spread through the whole country.[162][163]
On 22 February, theCouncil of Ministers introduced a bill to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, quarantining more than 50,000 people from 11 different municipalities inNorthern Italy. After few days, schools and universities closed in the whole country.[164] On 8 March, the Italian government extended the quarantine to the entire region of Lombardy and 14 other northern provinces, putting more than a quarter of the national population underpandemic lockdown.[165] On the following day, the government extended the quarantine measures previously applied only in the "red zones" to the whole country, puttingde facto 60 million people in lockdown.[166][167] At the time of its application,[168] this measure was described as the largest lockdown in human history.[169][170][171] On 18 May, the lockdown officially ended and the government allowed the re-openings of bars, restaurants, barbers and gyms.[172] The possibility to travel between different regions was restored on 3 June.[173]
Starting from July, many countries in Europe, including Italy, witnessed a new rise in detected COVID-19 cases.[174][175] On 7 October, the parliament postponed the end of the state of emergency to 31 January 2021, and Prime Minister Conte imposed the use of protection mask outdoors.[176] On 13 October 2020, the Italian government reintroduced stricter rules to limit the spread of COVID-19.[177] Demonstrations and gatherings of people were strictly forbidden.[178] Regions and municipalities were given the power to only tighten but not release containment measures.[179] On 25 October, the government introduced new restrictions, imposing the closing of gyms, swimming pools, theatres, and cinemas, as well as the closing of bars and restaurants by 6 pm.[180] Restrictions were later confirmed until April 2021 by the new government led byMario Draghi.[181]
Mattarella on 31 December 2021 during the last speech of his first term as president
On 15 March 2021, Prime Minister Draghi placed the majority of Italy under "full lockdown" conditions, with non-essential businesses closing and travel restricted, in response to an increase in the transmission of COVID-19; unlike the 2020 lockdown, factories and some other workplaces were allowed to remain open. Draghi vowed that Italy would see its vaccination programme triple in April, reaching 500,000 people per day by that time.[182]
In June 2021, the more contagiousSARS-CoV-2 Delta variant became predominant in Italy.[183][184][185] In August 2021, the government extended the requirement of theEU Digital COVID Certificate, also known as Green Pass, to the participation in sports events and music festivals but also to the access to indoor places like bars, restaurants and gyms, as well as to long-distance public transportation, in an attempt to contain the spread of new variants.[186] On 15 October, Italy became the first country in the world to establish a mandatoryCOVID-19 vaccination certificate for the entire work force, public, and private.[187]
On 31 December, during what was anticipated to be his last speech to the nation as president and within a dramatic increasing in COVID-19 cases, Mattarella thanked all the Italians who got vaccinated, stressing that "wasting vaccines was an offense to anyone who didn't have them".[188] Mattarella also stated that during his seven-year term he never felt alone, thanking Italians to have shown "the best face of the country".[189]
During 2021, despite high popularity amid theCOVID-19 pandemic in Italy,[190][191][192] President Mattarella refused to run for a second term despite various political forces asking him to do so, recalling similar remarks made by his predecessorsAntonio Segni andGiovanni Leone.[193][194] Despite his firm denial, Mattarella received several votes in the ballots, notably reaching 336 votes in the sixth ballot and 387 in the seventh one, even if no major party or coalition formally supported him as a candidate.[195] On the morning of 29 January, after all other possible candidacies failed and the two major coalitions could not agree on a shared candidate, the re-election of incumbent president Mattarella became a serious alternative.[196][197] On the same day, Mattarella agreed to serve a second term,[198] and was re-elected with 759 votes,[199] as most party leaders and Prime MinisterMario Draghi asked him to accept their joint nomination for another term.[200][201][202]
On 3 February, President Mattarella was sworn in for his second term in front of a joint assembly of the parliament. He called for unity ("We still need to work together to strengthen Italy, beyond the current difficulties"), and also commented on theRusso-Ukrainian crisis, stating: "We cannot accept that now, without even the pretext of competition between different political and economic systems, the winds of confrontation are once again blowing across a continent that has experienced the tragedies of the First and Second World Wars."[203] Mattarella added: "We must appeal to our resources and those of allied and friendly countries so that the displays of strength give way to mutual understanding so that no people should fear aggression from their neighbours."[204] Following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mattarella strongly condemnedVladimir Putin's decision to attack Ukraine, describing the invasion as a "brutal war",[205] and called it a "nineteenth-century-like attack that evoked frightening scenarios, with humanity as the protagonist of its own ruin".[206]
Mattarella dissolving the Parliament following Draghi's resignation
On 13 July 2022, the M5S abstained during theconfidence vote on thedecreto aiuti (English:aid decree), a bill that introduced stimulus to contrast the ongoing energy crisis.[207][208] On the following day, the M5S left the Senate floor during the voting process,de facto opening agovernment crisis within the Draghi's cabinet.[209] Following the M5S's abstention, Prime Minister Draghi consulted with President Mattarella about the crisis; after a few hours, he formally resigned as Prime Minister citing a lack of political trust and confidence within the government's majority.[210] Mattarella rejected the resignation because the government had largely won the confidence vote in the Senate and invited the prime minister to address the parliament, explaining the political situation.[211][212]
On 20 July, the government failed to reach the absolute majority in the confidence vote as the League, FI, and the M5S decided not to take part in the ballot,de facto causing the fall of the government.[213][214][215] On the following day, after a speech in front of the Chamber of Deputies, Draghi officially resigned as prime minister.[216] Mattarella accepted his resignation; Draghi remained in office as caretaker prime minister until theformation of the Meloni government following asnap election.[217][218] On the same day, Mattarella summoned Draghi,Roberto Fico, andElisabetta Casellati to the Quirinal Palace and then dissolved the parliament.[219] In a brief speech to the nation, Mattarella stated: "Pauses are not possible at the moment we are going through: energy costs have consequences for families and businesses, economic difficulties must be addressed, there are many obligations to be closed in the interest of Italy."[220]
2022 general election, government formation, and geopolitical tensions
On the following day, the centre-right coalition formally proposed Meloni as its candidate to the premiership. In the afternoon, Mattarella summoned Meloni to the Quirinal Palace and gave her the task of forming a new cabinet. The Cabinet was announced on 21 October and was officially sworn in on 22 October.[225][226] It was one of the fastest government formations in the history of the Italian Republic.[227] Meloni became the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Italy.[228][229]
In February 2023, Mattarella officially asked the government to modify the law regarding beach concessions in Italy, which was considered against both the European law and the opinion of Italy'sCouncil of State.[230] He also criticised theMilleproroghe (English:Thousand extensions), a decree law promoted by the government aimed at resolving urgent provisions by the end of the current year and described by Mattarella as a "mere container of the most different regulatory interventions".[231]
Mattarella during the 2024Republic Day parade in Rome
In February 2024, during a period of students' protests against both theGaza war and the policies promoted by Meloni's government, often strongly repressed by the police, Mattarella criticized the use of the force and complained with the interior ministerMatteo Piantedosi, stating that "the authority of the police force is not measured by truncheons but by its ability to ensure security while protecting, at the same time, the freedom to express opinions publicly".[232] The president also added that with young people "using truncheons is a failure".[233]
Ahead of the2024 European Parliamen election in Italy held in May, Mattarella invited Italians to vote by stating that voting is "a civic duty and a precious opportunity to reflect together on the reasons that animate the life of our community. ... With other free peoples of the continent we decided to give life to a community of which in a few days we will celebrate itssovereignty through the election of theEuropean Parliament."[234] These words were deeply criticised by the League, especially by senatorClaudio Borghi, who asked for the resignation of Mattarella, asserting that Italy must not cede sovereignty to the EU.[235] After a few days, speaking during aCarabinieri ceremony, President Mattarella stated that "due to the historical moment that Italy and Europe are experiencing, we need loyalty to the Republic more than ever."[236]
In February 2025, intervening inMarseille regarding a possible new push in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine following the re-election ofDonald Trump, Mattarella commented: "Theappeasement policies adopted by European powers towards the proponents of aggressive foreign policies were a testimony to a futile attempt to contain destructive ambitions. ... Firmness would, most likely, have prevented the war. Keeping in mind the current conflicts, can it work today?"[237] After a few days, Russia'sMinistry of Foreign Affairs labeled Mattarella's statement as "offensive and outrageous", having linkened Russia toNazi Germany.[238] After a few days, the Russian foreign ministry's spokespersonMaria Zakharova added that his words would have had consequences.[239]
Mattarella married Marisa Chiazzese, daughter of Lauro Chiazzese, a professor ofRoman law andrector of theUniversity of Palermo, in 1966; his brotherPiersanti was married to Marisa's sister Irma. Mattarella and his wife have three children:[240][241]Laura (born 1967), Bernardo Giorgio (1968),[242] and Francesco (1973). Marisa Chiazzese died from a tumor in 2012.[240] Their daughter Laura has acted asde factoFirst Lady,[243] accompanying her father on official trips outside Italy.[244][245]
Mattarella isCatholic. Best known for its involvement in politics, Mattarella's family has held various national and regional offices spanning across two generations. His fatherBernardo was a member of theConstituent Assembly and served as minister in various governments from 1953 until 1966. His brother Piersanti was murdered in 1980 in Sicily byCosa Nostra while serving as president of the Regional Government of Sicily.[246] Another brother, Antonio, was managing director of the Investment Banking division ofGoldman Sachs from 2005 to 2017.[247][248]
At the end of his first term, Mattarella's approval rating was among the highest ever for an Italian president and the highest amongWestern world leaders.[252] According to the polling firm Ixè, Mattarella's approval rating in December 2021 was at 77%,[253] while it stood at 66% according to SWG,[254] and 65% according to Quorum–YouTrend.[255] In February 2023, one year after his re-election as president, his approval rating was still very high, remaining at 77% according to Ixè and 65% for Quorum–YouTrend.[22][23] On 7 February 2023, Mattarella became the first president to attend theSanremo Music Festival.[256] On 15 April 2025, Mattarella underwent heart surgery to have apacemaker fitted.[257]
^Santoro, Gianpaolo (30 January 2015)."La saga dei Mattarella".Il Napoletano (in Italian).Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved1 January 2022.
^Negri, Fedra; Rebessi, Elisa (January 2018). "Was Mattarella Worth the Trouble? Explaining the Failure of the 2016 Italian Constitutional Referendum".Italian Political Science Review.48 (2). Cambridge University Press:177–196.doi:10.1017/ipo.2017.29.hdl:2434/562060.S2CID158906172.
^Di Mauro, Danilo; Memoli, Vincenzo (February 2018). "Targeting the Government in the Referendum: The Aborted 2016 Italian Constitutional Reform".Italian Political Science Review.48 (2). Cambridge University Press:133–157.doi:10.1017/ipo.2017.31.S2CID158555880.
^Ravizza, Simona (22 February 2020)."Coronavirus, due casi a Milano".Corriere della Sera (in Italian).Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved22 February 2020.
^"Bernardo Giorgio Mattarella" (in Italian). Istituto di Ricerche sulla Pubblica Amministrazione.Archived from the original on 30 May 2018. Retrieved29 May 2018.
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