Italy's Mattarella drops retirement plan, stays on as president

FILE PHOTO: Italian President Sergio Mattarella presides over the session of the plenary assembly of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM), in Rome, Italy January 20, 2022. Francesco Ammendola/Italian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

ROME (Reuters) - President Sergio Mattarella had already signed a lease on a new apartment and called in the packers, making it clear he wanted to leave the Quirinale Palace the minute his seven-year mandate expired on Feb. 3.

But instead, the 80-year-old Mattarella unexpectedly agreed to stay in place on Saturday and prevent a power vacuum, with Italy's fractious parties unable to pick an alternative figure capable of winning a majority in parliament.