Italy’s President Napolitano resigns as expected

President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy has stepped down, as promised, over his advancing age and health problems.

According to the Quirinal Palace, Napolitano, who becomes 90 this year, signed his formal resignation on Wednesday.

The 89-year-old president, whose resignation paves the way for the election of a new head of state, had said in December 2014 that he would be quitting in mid-January.

In spring 2013, Napolitano unwillingly accepted to stay in power for a second term due to the repeated failure of the lawmakers to elect his successor.

Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Tuesday hailed Napolitano as a man driven by the desire to reform, who “faced moments of great difficulty with intelligence and wisdom.”

Now that the octogenarian has formally resigned, the Italian parliament has to meet within 15 days along with 58 regional deputies to choose a new leader for the Eurozone’s third-largest economy.

Former prime ministers Romano Prodi and Giuliano Amato, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti and former mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, are among the potential candidates for the post.

“Napolitano has been president in one of the most difficult phases in our country, not just politically but economically,” said Francesco Clementi, professor of constitutional law at the Luiss University in Rome, adding that the presidential vote would “certainly be complex.”

The post of president in Italy is mostly ceremonial. However, it becomes vitally important as the president can steer the formation of a new government during the times of political crisis in the country.

Napolitano had been acting as the president of Italy since 2006.