M5S, FI, PD to file blank ballots (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, March 23 - The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the rightwing populist League, the centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) said Friday they would file blank ballots in the first round of voting for parliamentary Speakers, the first act in the hung parliament that convenes Friday.
    A deal between the centre right, including the League, and the M5S to give the Speakership of the Senate to the former and the House to the latter broke down Thursday.
    The M5S rejected the F1 candidate for Senate Speaker, former Senate Whip Paolo Romani, because he is under investigation for alleged misuse of a municipal cellphone in the northern city of Monza.
    The M5S said Friday they would "never resurrect" the so-called Nazarene Pact formerly between FI leader Silvio Berlusconi and PD ex-leader Matteo Renzi.
    "No blackmail, we won't rehabilitate Berlusconi," said M5S Senate Whip Danilo Toninelli.
    PD caretaker leader Maurizio Martina said "the stalemate is getting more complicated, and what we need are guarantor figures".
    Small rightist Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader Giorgia Meloni said "the stalemate is due to infantile posturing".
    The parties went on to notch their first failure to elect a Lower House Speaker amid the stalemate. No candidate reached the required 420 votes needed in the first ballot in the 630-seat chamber.
    That corresponds to two thirds of the seats in the Lower House.
    The second and third ballots lowers the quorum by counting blank ballots.
    A two-thirds majority is needed to elect the new Speaker in the first three rounds of voting, after which an absolute majority suffices. Some 620 MPs took part in the vote, 592 filing blank ballots and 18 spoiling their ballots.
    Votes were cast for Brunetta (2), Muroni (2), Stumpo (2), Bonafede (2), Ermini (1), Lupi (1) and Tripiedi (1).
    The two winners of the general election were the M5S, which got 32%, and the League, which got 17.5% to become top dog on the centre right, which as a whole got 37%.
    The PD was left reeling after scoring just 19%.