Poker-faced Italian president to hold all the cards after election

FILE PHOTO: Italian President Sergio Mattarella leaves at the end of his consultations at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy, December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - In the sound and fury of Italy's election campaign, the man who will pick the next prime minister never says a word.

President Sergio Mattarella, known for his reserved personality and dislike of controversy, hails from the now-defunct Christian Democrat party, which mastered the art of political compromise for 50 years after World War Two.