(ANSA) - President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi was urged this weekend to consider a second term as head of state.
Speaking six months before Ciampi's seven-year term ends, Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said on Saturday that Ciampi had been an "excellent president".
"We should think about re-electing him," he said, adding that his party, the rightist National Alliance (AN), considered Ciampi an "excellent choice".
When asked to comment on Fini's words, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said on Sunday that Ciampi's re-election was "certainly a possibility."
"But it seems to me a bit premature to talk about it because it risks involving the head of state in political discussions and polemics which he should remain above," the centre-right leader said.
Sandro Bondi, the national coordinator of Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, said that "Forza Italia would have nothing against re-electing Ciampi, who has been an impartial arbiter in these difficult years."
The UDC, a centrist, Catholic party in Berlusconi's four-way governing coalition, commented that "the UDC cannot but view Ciampi's possible re-election in a positive light."
Democratic Left chief Piero Fassino, whose party is the largest in the opposition, said that "Ciampi enjoys the country's respect, trust and affection. The possibility of his re-election cannot but receive broad support from the public and political parties."
But he added that it was "inopportune" to discuss the issue, saying it would involve Ciampi in the political debate.
"He has been a great president and everyone looks to him with hope. But at the same time, we must leave him to work in peace," Fassino said.
Ciampi, who was elected in May 1999 in just one round of voting by lawmakers and representatives of Italy's 20 regions, turns 85 next month.
A former premier and Bank of Italy governor, he is Italy's 10th post-war head of state. His term ends in May 2006, a month after general elections are due to be held.
