Italy's coalition government of PM Giuseppe Conte has won a vote of confidence in the Senate - the first step towards its confirmation.
ADVERTISEMENTItaly’s new government has won its first confidence vote.
The decision, in the upper house Senate, came after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte outlined the coalition’s agenda of higher welfare spending and tougher immigration rules.
The alliance of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the Eurosceptic anti-immigration League party won the vote by 171 to 117.
Earlier, in his first policy speech since being sworn in, Conte promised to redistribute migrants in the EU and review sanctions against Russia.
A second confidence vote takes place on Wednesday when Conte's administration, which was only sworn in on Friday, faces a confidence vote in the lower house Chamber of Deputies.
He is expected to win that vote too as 5-Star and the League have a comfortable majority.
Only after that will the government be fully empowered.
Later this week Conte will attend the G7 summit in Canada and will take part in a key EU summit at the end of the month.