The (in English, "white semester") is an Italian legislative term referring to the last six months of the
President of Italy
The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Politics of Italy, Italian politics comply with the Consti ...
's seven-year term of office. According to Article 88 of the
Italian Constitution
The Constitution of the Italian Republic () was ratified on 22 December 1947 by the Constituent Assembly, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against, before coming into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the previous Constitution of the Ki ...
, the President cannot dissolve the
Italian Parliament
The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...
and call a
new election during the last six months of their term. The prohibition was initially absolute. However, a constitutional amendment was passed in November 1991 creating an exception in cases where the normal five-year term of the parliament ends during the last six months of the President's term. The 1991 amendment came about when
Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (; , ; 1928 – 2010)
.
's term as President was due to expire on 3 July 1992, only one day after the natural expiration of the
10th Italian Legislature (2 July 1992), thus leaving no one constitutionally empowered to call the next election.
The
2013 Italian general election
General elections were held in Italy on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic for ...
on 24-25 February resulted in a
hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
. By early April 2013, a government had still not been formed. President
Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...
was by that time in the ''semestre bianco'' of his term and would have been unable to call a new election if it were needed to resolve the deadlock. However, on 20 April 2013, he agreed to run in the
Italian presidential election, and was elected to an unprecedented second term, thus renewing his mandate to call a new election if necessary.
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(20 April 2013)
"Italy crisis: President Giorgio Napolitano re-elected"
Retrieved 22 April 2013.
References
Government of Italy
Law of Italy
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