In Italy, the new government of populist five-star movement and Social Democratic PD has taken the last parliamentary hurdle: The Senate expressed its confidence in the government under the non-party prime minister Giuseppe Conte. The House of Representatives approved the government on Monday by a clear majority.
In the vote of confidence in the upper house 169 senators voted for the new government, 133 against and five abstained. Foreign Minister of the new government is five-star boss Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance former PD MEP Roberto Gualtieri. The new Minister of the Interior is the non-party ex-prefect Luciana Lamorgese.
Contes's new government was sworn in last Thursday. Conte's former five-star and right-wing Lega government also broke in August. The reason for this was the dispute over the continuation of the transalpine high-speed line (TAV) between Turin and Lyon. Unlike the stars, the PD advocates the train project.
The stars had insisted in the negotiations with the PD that the party-independent Conte head of government remained. Lega boss Matteo Salvini had the government burst at the beginning of August and hoped for a favorable vote for his Lega party on an early parliamentary election. The Five-Star Movement and the PD thwarted this plan by forming a new coalition.