Exactly seven years after the first time, Sergio Mattarella returned to the Chamber to deliver his inauguration speech, for the second time, as President of the Republic — the epilogue of a troubled week in which politics failed to reach agreement on a successor who could guarantee impartiality, continuity and an international profile. Mattarella spoke of "troubled times" and of "a new, unexpected call to responsibility from which I cannot and did not intend to shrink."

He then stressed the need to "begin to design and build, in the years ahead, the Italy of the post-emergency period" — the post-pandemic era, "which is not over, but which we are keeping under control." He dwelt on the need for a reform of the justice system, currently under way, but also on two key words. The first is dignity, understood as a right to be restored to the most vulnerable: women who are victims of violence, workers at safety risk, disabled people without inclusion, migrants lacking adequate reception, and prisoners subjected to prison overcrowding.

President Mattarella in the chamber with Elisabetta Casellati and Roberto Fico, the second and third highest offices of state © Quirinale

The second is sustainability: Mattarella recalled that "we are the largest beneficiaries of the Next Generation EU programme and we must relaunch the economy under the banner of sustainability and innovation, within the framework of the ecological and digital transition. The hard times we have been forced to live through have left us a lesson: we must equip ourselves with new tools to prevent future possible global dangers, to manage their consequences, and to keep our fellow citizens safe."

The full speech

"Mr Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate of the Republic,

Members of Parliament and regional delegates, Parliament and the representatives of the Regions have made their decision.

This is for me a new — unexpected — call to responsibility; one from which, however, I cannot and did not intend to shrink.

I return, therefore, before this Assembly, in the highest seat of democratic representation, where the will of the people finds its fullest expression.

I thank you for the trust you have shown me by calling me for the second time to represent the unity of the Republic.

I will fulfil my duty in accordance with the principles and norms of the Constitution, to which I have just renewed my oath of loyalty, and to which I have endeavoured to adhere at every moment over the past seven years.

The letter and the spirit of our Charter will continue to be the point of reference for my actions.

My thoughts, at this moment, go out to all Italian women and men: of every age, every Region, every social condition, every political orientation. And, in particular, to those suffering most, who look to the institutions of the Republic for the guarantee of rights, reassurance, support and answers to their hardship.

These expectations would have been severely compromised by the continuation of a state of profound political uncertainty and tension, whose consequences could have put at risk even decisive resources and the prospects for relaunching a country striving to emerge from a condition of serious difficulty.

I read this awareness in the parliamentary vote that brought the troubled days of last week to a close.

Troubled for everyone, including for me.

It is this same awareness that is the reason for my yes, and it will be at the heart of my commitment as President of our Republic in the fulfilment of this new mandate.

At the moment when the Presidents of the Chamber and the Senate informed me of the outcome of the vote, I spoke of the urgencies — health, economic, social — that call upon us. We cannot afford delays, nor uncertainty.

The fight against the virus is not over; the vaccination campaign has greatly reduced the risks, but we cannot afford to be inattentive.

It is abundantly clear how the resumption of all activity is linked to the spread of vaccines that protect ourselves and others.

This commitment joins that for recovery, for building our future.

Italy is a great country.

The entrepreneurial spirit of Italians, their creativity and solidarity, the extraordinary commitment of our businesses, and the choices of institutions have allowed us to restart. They have allowed the economy to achieve results that now place us in the leading group of the Union. But this recovery, in order to consolidate and not prove fleeting, needs planning, innovation, investment in social capital, and a genuine leap in efficiency of the country-system.

New difficulties are emerging. Families and businesses will have to contend with rising energy prices. The scarcity and rising price of certain goods of fundamental importance to the productive sectors is a cause for concern.

We are living through an extraordinary phase in which the political agenda is largely defined by the shared strategy agreed at European level.

Italy is at the centre of Europe's recovery effort. We are the largest beneficiaries of the Next Generation programme and we must relaunch the economy under the banner of sustainability and innovation, within the framework of the ecological and digital transition.

The stability that is felt to be necessary is, therefore, made up of dynamism, work and common effort.

The hard times we have been forced to live through have left us a lesson: we must equip ourselves with new tools to prevent future possible global dangers, to manage their consequences, and to keep our fellow citizens safe.

The undertaking now being set in motion requires the contribution of each and every one.

Political and social forces, local and central institutions, businesses and trade unions, public administration and the liberal professions, young and old, cities and inland areas, island and mountain communities. We are all called to this.

The example has been set for us by doctors, healthcare workers, volunteers, by those who ensured essential services in the most critical moments, by mayors, by the Armed Forces and the police, engaged in supporting the vaccination campaign: to all of them our gratitude must be reaffirmed.

This is the horizon before us.

We must design and begin to build, in the years ahead, the Italy of the post-emergency period.

This is still a time for a common commitment to make our country stronger, well beyond the difficulties of the moment.

An Italy that is more just, more modern, deeply bound to the friendly peoples who surround us.

A country that grows in unity.

In which the inequalities — territorial and social — that run through our communities are overcome.

An Italy that offers its young people life paths in study and work so as to guarantee the cohesion of our people.

An Italy that knows how to overcome the demographic decline to which Europe seems condemned.

An Italy that draws advantage from the enhancement of its beauties, offering its way of life to those throughout the world who look upon it with admiration.

An Italy committed to the defence of the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems, aware of its responsibilities towards future generations.

A Republic capable of re-tying the constitutional pact between Italians and their free and democratic institutions.

Strengthening Italy also means enabling it to help shape the process of relaunching Europe, so that Europe becomes more efficient and just; making permanent and structural the turning point that was achieved in the most demanding days of the pandemic.

Italy's contribution cannot be absent: ideas, proposals and consistency in the commitments made are needed.

The Conference on the Future of Europe cannot be reduced to a grey exercise devoid of historical vision; it must be the opportunity to define, with courage, a Union that plays a leading role in the international community.

In keeping with the choices enshrined in our Constitution, the Republic has always pursued a policy of peace. In doing so, with firm adherence to the principles underpinning the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty and the European Union, we have consistently promoted mutually respectful dialogue between the different parties, so that the principles of cooperation and justice might prevail.

For many decades, European countries have been able to enjoy the peace dividend, made concrete by European integration and further enhanced by the end of the Cold War.

We cannot accept that now, without even the pretext of competition between different political and economic systems, the winds of confrontation should rise again in a continent that has known the tragedies of the First and Second World Wars.

We must call upon our own resources and those of our allied and friendly countries so that shows of force may give way to mutual understanding, and so that no people need fear aggression from its neighbours.

The peoples of the European Union must also be aware that it falls to them to play a supporting role in the processes of stabilisation and peace across the war-ravaged Mediterranean and Middle Eastern landscape. One cannot escape the challenges of history and the responsibilities they entail.

On all these matters — at home and in the international dimension — the Government led by President Draghi is intensely engaged; a government born, with broad parliamentary support, in the full throes of the emergency and now set to overcome it, laying the foundations for a new season of sustainable growth for our country and for Europe. To the Government I express my wholehearted thanks and my best wishes for its work.

The great changes we are experiencing at a global level demand rapid, innovative and far-sighted solutions that look to the complexity of the problems and not merely to particular interests.

A reflection on the functioning of our democracy, at every level, is also called for.

The very speed of change calls us, once again, to the need for the constant realisation of democracy.

Authentic democracy requires the dutiful observance of the rules governing the formation of decisions, deliberation and participation. The need to govern ever more rapid changes demands timely responses. Timeliness that must nonetheless be supported by that indispensable in-depth examination of issues which allows for precision in choices.

We must avoid problems being resolved without the intervention of institutions in defence of the general interest: such an eventuality always works to the advantage of those in a position of greater strength.

Supranational economic powers tend to prevail and impose themselves, bypassing the democratic process.

On another level, authoritarian or autocratic regimes deceptively attempt to appear, to the superficial eye, more efficient than democratic ones, whose decisions, based on free consent and social involvement, are, on the contrary, more robust and effective.

The challenge — which presents itself at a global level — of safeguarding democracy concerns everyone, and first and foremost institutions.

It will depend, above all, on the strength of Parliament, on the high quality of the work carried out within it, and on the necessary procedural adjustments.

Two non-negotiable requirements must be held together: respect for the processes of democratic guarantee and, at the same time, timeliness of decisions.

This is why the role of Parliament is crucial, as the place of participation. The place where consensus is built around the decisions that are taken. The place where politics recognises, values and brings into the institutions what is living and vital in civil society.

Just as the role and space of autonomous bodies is decisive. The pluralism of institutions, experienced in a spirit of collaboration — as we have seen throughout the pandemic emergency — strengthens democracy and society.

It is not for me to indicate the reform paths to follow. But we must understand that the quality of our democracy will depend on the answers given to these questions.

What appears in any case necessary — in the indispensable collaborative dialogue between Government and Parliament — is that, particularly on the fundamental acts of governing the country, Parliament is always placed in a position to examine and assess them with adequate time. The forced compression of parliamentary timescales represents a risk no less serious than unjustified and damaging extensions of them.

An orderly recourse to the various regulatory sources, in keeping with the limits set by the Constitution, also appears necessary.

The very quality and prestige of representation depend, to no small extent, on the capacity of parties to express what emerges across the different spheres of economic and social life, to encourage participation and to train citizens in debate.

Parties are called upon to respond to the demands for openness coming from citizens and social forces.

Without engaging parties, just as without intermediate social bodies, the citizen finds himself alone and more defenceless. He must be able to rely on politics as a civil means of expressing his own ideas and, at the same time, his own belonging to the Republic.

Parliament has before it a task of great importance because, through new rules, it can foster a season of participation.

On the ethical and cultural level too, it is necessary — precisely in this moment of difficulty — to kindle this passion that expresses itself in so many ways in our community. All young people above all, everyone, and especially them, feel on their shoulders the responsibility of taking up the country's future, bringing novelty and enthusiasm into politics and institutions.

I extend a respectful greeting to the Constitutional Court, guardian of the principles of our Charter.

In sending a greeting to our Magistracy — a fundamental element of the constitutional system and of the life of society — I feel compelled to underline that a profound reform process must also concern the sphere of justice.

For too long it has become a battleground that has frequently caused the interests of the community to be lost sight of.

While safeguarding the non-negotiable principles of the autonomy and independence of the Magistracy — one of the cornerstones of our Constitution — the judicial system and the system of autonomous governance of the Magistracy must meet the pressing demands of efficiency and credibility, as citizens rightly require.

It is essential that the announced reforms be brought swiftly to completion so that the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura may fully carry out the function proper to it, enhancing the unquestionable high professional qualities on which the Magistracy can count, and overcoming the logic of factional allegiance which, by constitutional mandate, must remain alien to the judiciary.

To this end, a profound rigour must be restored.

In sessions of the Consiglio Superiore I have long underlined that independence and autonomy are precious and foundational principles of the Constitution, but that their safeguarding resides in the conscience of citizens: this sentiment has been severely weakened and must be urgently recovered.

Citizens must be able to place wholehearted trust, rather than mistrust, in justice and the judiciary. Nor should they feel fear at the risk of arbitrary or unpredictable decisions which, in contrast to legal certainty, impinge upon people's lives.

The great delicacy of the necessary responsibility that the Republic entrusts to magistrates must always be felt.

The Magistracy and the Bar are called upon to ensure that the reform process is realised, fully restoring prestige and credibility to the function of justice and bringing it into line with European standards.

To the Armed Forces, an ever greater instrument of peace and a significant element in the Republic's international policy, and to the Police Forces, guarantors of freedom within security, I express my appreciation, together with renewed condolences for those who have lost their lives in the fulfilment of their duty.

In greeting the accredited Diplomatic Corps, I give thanks for the friendship and collaboration shown towards our country.

To the many of our fellow citizens present in the most varied parts of the globe, I send my warm regards, together with recognition for the contribution they make to an understanding of Italian identity in the world.

To Pope Francis, whose teachings Italy regards with great respect, I express the feelings of gratitude of the Italian people.

I send a message of friendship to the many foreign communities living in Italy: their affection for our country, in which they have chosen to live, and their contribution to the life of our society are precious.

Italy is, par excellence, the country of beauty, the arts and culture. This is how the rest of the world looks at us, and rightly so.

Culture is not a luxury: it is a constitutive element of Italian identity.

Let us ensure that this heritage of ingenuity and achievement — to be preserved and supported — becomes an even greater resource capable of generating knowledge, moral enrichment and a driver of economic development. It is a resource of particular importance for those young people who see in universities, publishing, the arts, theatre, music and cinema a professional destination in keeping with their own aspirations.

Allow me to pay tribute to a great protagonist of our cinema and our country: Monica Vitti.

Let us support a school system that knows how to welcome and transmit preparation and culture, as a body of values and principles that underpin the reasons for our living together; a school system aimed at ensuring equal conditions and equal opportunities.

Building a more modern Italy is our task.

But for modernity to sustain quality of life and an open social model, animated by freedom, rights and solidarity, it is necessary to make the fight against inequality and poverty the cornerstone of public policy.

In the recent period, employment indicators have risen — and that is an important fact — but still too many women are excluded from work, and the marginalisation of women is one of the factors slowing our development, as well as a sign of civic, cultural and human backwardness.

Many, far too many young people are often confined to precarious and poorly paid jobs, when not relegated to existential peripheries.

It is a duty to listen to the voice of students, who feel all the difficulties of their tomorrow and seek to express needs and questions aimed at overcoming imbalances and contradictions.

Equal social dignity is a cornerstone of just and effective development.

Inequalities are not the price to be paid for growth. They are, rather, the brake on any real prospect of growth.

Our task — as the Constitution prescribes — is to remove the obstacles.

Alongside the social dimension of dignity, there is an ethical and cultural meaning that concerns the value of persons and calls the whole of society into question.

Dignity.

Dignity means reducing workplace deaths to zero — deaths that wound society and the conscience of each one of us. Because the safety of workers, of every worker, concerns the value we place on life.

Never again tragedies like that of the young Lorenzo Parelli, who entered a factory as part of a school-work programme.

Almost every day we are dramatically reminded of this primary duty of our country.

Dignity means opposing racism and antisemitism — intolerable aggressions, not only against the minorities subjected to physical or verbal violence, but against the conscience of each one of us.

Dignity means preventing violence against women, a deep and unacceptable wound that must be combated with vigour and healed through the force of culture, education and example.

Our dignity is called into question by migration, above all when we are unable to defend the right to life, when we in practice deny human dignity to others.

It is above all our own dignity that compels us to fight, without respite, the trafficking and enslavement of human beings.

Dignity is the right to education, the fight against school dropout, the elimination of the technological and digital divide.

Dignity is respect for the elderly, who must not be left to loneliness, nor can they be without a role that involves them.

Dignity means combating poverty, the desperate and horizonless precariousness that sadly crushes the hopes of so many people.

Dignity means not being forced to choose between work and motherhood.

Dignity is a country where prisons are not overcrowded and where the social reintegration of inmates is assured. This is also the best guarantee of security.

Dignity is a country that is not indifferent to the everyday problems faced by people with disabilities. We trust in a country capable of removing the obstacles they encounter, without justification, in their lives.

Dignity is a country free from the mafias, from the blackmail of criminality, free also from the complicity of those who pretend not to see.

Dignity means ensuring and guaranteeing citizens' right to free and independent information.

Dignity, then, as the cornerstone of our commitment, of our civic passion.

On this note — in closing — I wish to remember in this chamber the President of another parliamentary assembly, the European one: David Sassoli.

His witness as a gentle and courageous man, always open to dialogue and capable of representing democratic institutions at the highest levels, has entered the hearts of our fellow citizens.

"Best wishes to our hope" were his last words in public.

Having just said: "We are the hope".

Yes, we, together, responsible for the future of our Republic.

Long live the Republic, long live Italy!"

Mattarella's speech: dignity and sustainability to build a future together