Napolitano Rises to Presidency in Italy

By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 10, 1:59 PM ET

ROME - Giorgio Napolitano on Wednesday became the first former communist to ascend to Italy's presidency, crowning a political life spanning a half-century and marked by moderation.

Napolitano was elected president by Italy's Parliament in a vote that cleared the way for center-left leader Romano Prodi to take power after a monthlong limbo that followed bitterly disputed national elections.

Napolitano was supported by the center-left coalition, and one of his first acts as head of state will be to give Prodi the mandate to form a government.

The new president is scheduled to be sworn in Monday and Prodi said Wednesday he expects to form a government within a week.

The 80-year-old Napolitano, who has served as senator-for-life, is known for his understatement, gentle manners and moral rigor. His credentials include stints as parliament speaker and interior minister.

As a member of what was once the West's largest communist party, his position often veered from orthodoxy. He sought dialogue with Italian and European socialists to end his party's isolation and was an early supporter of European integration. During the first Gulf War, he spoke out against the withdrawal of Italy's small contingent, which was advocated by his party's leader.

It was a radical departure from left-wing orthodoxy for a man who, during the 1956 Russian invasion of Hungary, hailed the incursion as necessary, according to Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Supporters praise Napolitano's balanced attitude and elegant manners. Critics point to what they see as excessive caution and lack of political courage.

"I urge that the Bush White House not see this as the election of a communist, but see this as the election of a good man who can be counted on to carry out his function in a way which will please the United States," Richard Gardner, who was President Carter's envoy to Italy from 1977 to 1981, told AP Television News.

The head of state is a largely ceremonial figure who wields some influence at times of government crises or political changeovers. Presidents have the power to dissolve Parliament and call new elections and the duty to give mandates to form governments.

After Prodi gets the mandate, his government must win confidence votes in both houses of Parliament.

Many analysts have doubts that Prodi's government will last, since he has a razor-thin margin in the Senate and is supported by a potentially unwieldy coalition whose members range from Christian Democrats to communists to anti- Vatican secularists.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, when Italian communists embarked on a course that would eventually lead to changing the party's name and dropping the hammer-and-sickle symbol, Napolitano was among the strongest supporters of the reform. He has been a member of the reformed party, which is now called Democrats of the Left and is the biggest in Prodi's coalition.

"He was the least communist communist that the party has ever enlisted," wrote daily La Stampa.

Outgoing Premier Silvio Berlusconi rejected Napolitano on grounds that no center-left politician could represent all of Italy and be a guarantor of the constitution.

"We hope that he carries out the role that the constitution assigns him with impartiality," Berlusconi said Wednesday.

A native of Naples, Napolitano fought against the Nazis and Fascists during World War II. At the end of the war he joined the Communist Party and in 1953 he was elected to the Italian parliament — a job he would keep for 10 consecutive legislatures.

His top government job to date was as interior minister, in the 1996-1998 government headed by Prodi. Last year, his predecessor, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, made him a senator-for-life, one of Italy's greatest honors.

He recently published his memoirs, called "From the Italian Communist Party to European Socialism: A Political Autobiography."

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