Photo taken on Sept. 10, 2019 shows a view of the Senate ahead of a definitive confidence vote in Rome, Italy, on Sept. 10, 2019. The new cabinet of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte won the definitive confidence vote in the Senate on Tuesday, with 169 votes in favor, 133 against and five abstentions. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)
ROME, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The new cabinet of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte won a definitive confidence vote in senate on Tuesday, with 169 votes in favor, 133 against, and 5 abstentions.
On Monday, Conte had received the first confidence vote from the lower house with a larger majority of ballots (343 yes and 263 no), counting on a more comfortable number of supporting lawmakers.
Conte's new ministerial team was sworn in on Sept. 5, and forged on the base of a coalition between anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and center-left Democratic Party (PD).
The previous government -- also led by Conte -- fell on Aug. 20, following the decision of right-wing League leader Matteo Salvini to withdraw his support from the coalition with the M5S in a bid to trigger snap elections.
As he had done with deputies the day before, Conte outlined to senators some key points of the political program for the remaining legislature, showing a will to implement a partial shift from the previous government's action.
He promised the cabinet would open the way to a new season of reforms, and would move in accordance with the European Union (EU), respecting the EU rules in terms of public accounts, and putting the country's huge public debt on a reduction path again.
Regaining a pro-European stance -- which has long been traditional for Italy -- set Conte's new executive apart from the previous one made with League and M5S, which often took Euro-skeptic positions.
After winning two confidence votes this week, Conte's new cabinet is expected to focus on the new 2020 budget law.
This will have to be in line with EU budget rules, and involve complex negotiation between Rome and Brussels.
