It takes a special effort to make the politicians of Italy's First Republic look good, but over the past week the politicians of the Second Republic have done it.
The process by which they re-elected Mattarella exposed a political class that was deeply at odds with itself, yet with a common selfish interest in its own survival. The re-election of President Mattarella averted a short-term disaster. It leaves grave doubts over whether Italy's professional politicians can summon a higher sense of responsibility for the country as it stands at a critical juncture in its development.
The political system that governed Italy from the aftermath of the second world war until the early 1990s was referred to as the First Republic. The Second Republic was supposed to be a new start for politics after 30 years of crisis.
The events of the past week show the poor state of the political parties of the Second Republic. Italian democracy has come to rely on leadership and stability on the talents and maturity of non- political figures, such as Draghi, who are brought in to steady the ship because the elected politicians cannot do it themselves.
Italy's EU partners and financial markets will be relieved that, for the next year or so, the prime minister will be in a position to consolidate the reforms he has pursued. These reforms are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to boost growth, jobs and innovation in an economy that has been stagnant for decades.
It is possible that Mattarella will only serve part of his second seven-year term, allowing him to move to the presidency and continue overseeing the reforms. However, such an outcome is far from guaranteed and would still leave open the question of how far any government formed after next year's elections will have a sincere commitment to reform.
It was amazing to see politicians applauding themselves on Saturday as they finally came together behind Mattarella. The earlier deadlock underscored the essential disunity of the government. Enrico Letta, leader of the centre- left Democratic party, lamented that the presidential election revealed a political system that is blocked.
Mattarella did not seek re-election, like Giorgio Napolitano, who agreed to serve a second term only with the deepest reluctance. The political parties couldn't find anyone in their own ranks with national stature or cross-party appeal to replace Mattarella.
They decided on a second term for the president because they were worried about the fall of the government and early elections. It carried the risk of fewer parliamentary seats and the loss of power, privileges and pensions for many of them.
The far-right Brothers of Italy are led by Giorgia Meloni. Opinion polls show that it is the most popular party on the rightwing side of the political spectrum, and it is the only major party that refused to join the government. Italy may be able to choose its first radical right prime minister in a year.
Tony.barber@ft.
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