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Italian MPs begin voting new president
By EUobserver
Italian MPs, on Monday, begin to vote for the country's next president, with the incumbent, 80-year old Sergio Matarella, to step down on 3 February. Candidates in the secret ballot need an absolute majority in the first three rounds of voting and a simple one from the fourth round onward. The country's prime minister, Mario Draghi, is a favourite to win. Scandal-tainted former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has pulled out.