No winner yet in second day of Italian vote for president

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Leaders across Italy’s political spectrum continued to struggle to nail down an agreement on who should be the country’s next president. Without such a consensus, Tuesday’s round of voting by lawmakers and regional representatives failed for the second straight day to elect a winner. Through Wednesday, a two-thirds majority is needed to elect the head of state in Italy. Starting with the fourth round, only a simple majority is necessary. Premier Mario Draghi is willing to shift over to president, which is among the possibilities being haggled over by party leaders. But since Draghi is heading a pandemic unity government, some fear such a move would lead to another early election in Italy.