In the second ballot, most members of the centre-right and centre-left blocs appeared to have cast blank votes, with the candidate of the Five Star Movement, academic Stefano Rodotà, receiving the only significant support.

The tense atmosphere in the lower house of parliament, where the election took place, was alleviated only by the occasional vote for an Italian celebrity such as Maurizio Merli, an actor from the 1970s, and footballing legend Giovanni Trapattoni.