The new government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday easily won the first of two required confidence votes in parliament by a comfortable margin.
The vote in the lower Chamber of Deputies was 235 in favor of her coalition government and 154 against, while there were five abstentions.
The coalition needed at least 195 votes for a majority.
Photo: AP
The government yesterday was to face a vote in the Italian Senate, where it also holds a solid majority.
The confidence votes are required by the constitution for new governments.
Earlier on Tuesday in the chamber, Meloni laid out her government’s policy aims, firing back at domestic and foreign critics who are worried that her policies might undermine European unity or the civil rights of Italians.
She accused the EU of not always being ready for challenges, notably the fuel crisis threatening households and businesses.
However, she pledged that her four-day-old coalition government would stay loyal to EU accords while working for reforms, including on monetary rules.
“To pose these questions doesn’t mean being an enemy or a heretic, but a practical” person, Meloni said in a 70-minute speech.
She bristled at critics, including those from foreign governments, who have said they would keep a “vigilant” eye on her government.
Such attitudes are tantamount to “a lack of respect for the Italian people, who don’t need lessons,” Meloni said.
The prime minister’s 10-year-old Brothers of Italy party was the top vote-getter in Italy’s parliamentary election last month, winning 26 percent of the ballots cast.
She governs together with her main allies, League for Salvini Premier leader Matteo Salvini and former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi of Forza Italia.
With the confidence votes out of the way, Meloni would be able to get down to the business of governing.
Meloni, 45, voiced awe at becoming the first woman to govern Italy and acknowledged the weight of that responsibility “toward all those women who face heavy and unjust” burdens in balancing family and work.
She expressed determination to “break the heavy glass ceiling that’s on our heads.”
Meloni recited the first names of women in Italy with great achievements, including the first woman to be elected president of the Chamber of Deputies, an astronaut and a Nobel-prize-winning scientist.
Meloni spoke with US President Joe Biden, who offered her his congratulations and underscored the strong relationship between Rome and Washington.
They discussed their commitment to continue providing assistance to Ukraine and holding Russia accountable for its aggression, a readout of their call showed.
In the debate that followed the prime minister’s speech, an opposition leader, Democratic Party chamber whip Debora Serracchiani, challenged Meloni to fight “inequality and poverty, which needs immediate interventions and not ideological propaganda with which your government was born and is taking its first steps.”
Meloni confirmed her campaign pledge to back Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion.
Meloni also sought to allay fears that her government would alter Italy’s abortion law, saying it “will never limit citizens’ freedom.”
To boost Italy’s birthrate, one of the world’s lowest, cities and towns should operate free daycare centers and nursery schools that stay open during business and store hours, she said.
“We need a massive plan — economic, but also cultural — to rediscover the beauty of parenthood and put the family back at the center of society,” Meloni said.
Meloni promised to make it easier for renewable energy projects, such as wind farms, to win authorities’ approval.
“The motto of this government will be: ‘Don’t disturb those who want to do something,’” she said.
Italy needs “less bureaucracy, fewer rules,” she said, adding that this would help fight corruption.
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