ROME: With Italy still in political deadlock following the general election earlier this month, the two parties battling it out to head a new government reached agreement on Saturday on the respective positions of spea­ker for both the lower and upper houses of parliament.

In a horse-trading deal that could now pave the way for discussions over who will lead the country, a member of the anti-establishment Five Star Movem­ent (M5S), Roberto Fico, was elected speaker of the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies.

In return, Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, a member of the Forza Italia that forms part of the right-wing coalition — and a close friend of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi — was voted head of the upper house, the Senate.

The deal follows a period of tense negotiations and allows the sides to now start competing to form a government.M5S heavyweight Fico, 43, was elected with 422 votes out of 620 and Alberti Casellati, 71, becomes the first female Senate president with 240 votes out of 319.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2018