Italian president Napolitano will stand again for election

Current Italian president Giorgio Napolitano has announced that he'll run for a second term, after the nation's top political parties appealed to him to help end the crippling deadlock.

The 87-year-old put forth his candidacy after a fifth round of voting by the Italian parliament failed to elect a replacement, reports the BBC, a worrisome political deadlock that's doing little to abate investor fears about the effects of the Eurozone crisis here.

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"I consider it necessary to offer my availability," said Napolitano, who's likely to win an upcoming 6th round of voting, wrote AFP.

"I must assume my responsibilities before the nation and I ask for a corresponding assumption of collective responsibility," he added, notes AFP, a not-so-veiled dig at Italy's long squabbling political parties.

Most of the ballots for the president's slot turned in in the fifth round of elections were blank, wrote Al Jazeera, a political stalling tactic.

Even if elected to another seven year term, it's believed likely that the elderly Napolitano would resign within a year if his re-election helps to ease the political deadlock — and he would again have the power to dissolve Parliament.

Outside observers should remember that although the Italian president doesn't have a political role, the person in the position can perform essential functions such as calling new elections, dissolving Parliament, and submitting a candidate to create a new government, per the Associated Press.