Italy: Lower house gives vote of confidence to new govt

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - The new coalition government in Italy received a vote of confidence from the lower house of the parliament on late Monday.

The second coalition government, formed under technocrat Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, received 343 votes in favor and 263 votes against.

The new coalition government, formed by populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and center-left Democratic Party (PD), will seek a vote of confidence from the upper house of the parliament on Tuesday.

M5S and PD managed to form a new coalition government after the coalition of M5S and far-right League Party collapsed last month.

Tensions within the previous coalition between League Party and M5S had mounted over an infrastructure project involving a high-speed rail link with France.

Five Star and the League party had formed a coalition government in June 2018 under the leadership of Conte.

* Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet in Ankara