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Italy's new president gets unanimous welcome

Xinhua, February 4, 2015

• Sergio Mattarella, the new Italian president, started his seven-year mandate on Tuesday with a promise to guarantee the rule of law amid high appreciation of the local political and social world.

  Newly elected President Sergio Mattarella delivers a speech at the Parliament in Rome, Feb. 3, 2015. Sergio Mattarella, 73, a former constitutional judge, was sworn in Tuesday as Italy's new president to succeed the elderly Giorgio Napolitano. [Photo/Xinhua]

  In his 35-minute inaugural address interrupted by applause for more than 40 times, which followed the swearing-in at the lower chamber, 73-year-old Mattarella, a former constitutional judge, stressed his will to be an "impartial referee."

  His predecessor Giorgio Napolitano, who resigned last month before the end of the second tenure, defined Mattarella's words as "essential and not rhetorical."

  Mattarella called on politicians to be transparent and coherent in their decisions. Right to education and work, and fight against crime and terrorism were among the main topics addressed in his speech.

  "Mattarella's words seemed to me adequate, respectful of the Constitution," said three-time prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose lawmakers belonging to his center-right Forza Italia (FI) party, a major opposition force in parliament, mainly cast blank ballots.

  Even the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement (M5S), which had voted another candidate - senior magistrate Ferdinando Imposimato - promoted Mattarella. "For the moment he is promoted, but we are awaiting his action," M5S lawmaker Roberto Fico said.

  "Some passages of his address were sharable, especially those referring to (the right to help of) poor families, honesty and respect of the Constitution," Fico added.

  Positive reactions also came from labor unions. The leader of Italy's largest labor union CGL Susanna Camusso underlined the attention paid by Mattarella in his "sober and essential" words to the social rights of crisis-hit Italians.

  "And it was positive that he connected the topics of social rights to national unity," she added, referring to Mattarella's mentioning of the urgency of common effort to promote development.

  Besides the need to support Italian families and young generations, Mattarella also highlighted the courageous effort made by the country's entrepreneurial world in coping with the economic crisis.

  "Confindustria has appreciated very much the address of the new Italian president," Giorgio Squinzi, the head of Italy's leading industrial association Confindustria said in a statement.

  In response, Squinzi pledged the commitment of entrepreneurs to continue to do their part in pulling Italy out of recession. Italy needs "concrete, hard-working and honest" leaders, he said praising Mattarella's promise to fight against widespread corruption, also a priority of Confindustria.

  After the swearing-in, Mattarella saluted the military forces and went to the Quirinal Palace, the presidential residence, where a solemn installation ceremony was held.

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