Italy’s Conte wins parliamentary backing, promises tough EU talks

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte comfortably won a confidence vote in the lower house of parliament on Wednesday, confirming his government’s majority after promising tough negotiations with Europe over the economy.

Conte, backed by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League, won an initial vote in the Senate on Tuesday and can now forge ahead with his coalition program, which includes tax cuts, benefit hikes and justice reform.

The opposition accused the 53-year-old lawyer, who has no political or administrative experience, of being a puppet in the hands of his two coalition partners and said he had made a string of pledges that debt-laden Italy could never afford.

Source: Radio Pakistan