The eleventh President of the Italian Republic, in office since 15 May 2006, he had repeatedly refused invitations to run again, hoping to spend in peace his last years (he will be 88 in June).
In the Italian political stalemate, which gave in the last political elections an unmanageable situation with three practically equivalent parties, and the disastrous collapse in Parliament in the past two days of the various candidates proposed, this morning, Saturday, April 20 2013, representatives of the main political parties (except M5S and Sel who continued to vote for their candidate, prof. Rodotà) and the governors of the regions went to him and begged him to accept the nomination. After a few hours, with a short message and a sad heart, Napolitano, who had already started packing, accepted.
In the afternoon vote he was elected for a second term (the first Italian President ever) with 740 votes out of 996.