Italy parliament endorses new government
Italy's parliament has given a vote of confidence to the government of new Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
Some 169 senators in the 320-seat senate voted in favor of the cabinet while 99 voted against on Wednesday. Many opposition senators boycotted the confidence vote.
Gentiloni had to form the new government on Monday after his predecessor, Matteo Renzi, announced his resignation following a referendum defeat.
Sixty-two-year-old Gentiloni, who served as foreign minister in Renzi’s cabinet, unveiled his own government, which is largely the same as the outgoing administration.
Italy's biggest opposition party, the populist Five Star Movement (M5S), led the boycott on Wednesday. Critics say the cabinet has no legitimacy in light of the referendum defeat.
The cabinet of Gentiloni had won an initial confidence vote in the lower chamber of parliament on Tuesday.
The cabinet might be short-lived as many party leaders are pushing for elections in the first half of 2017.
Comedian Beppe Grillo's M5S party has vowed to stage a wave of street protests to push for elections. The M5S seeks to displace Renzi's Democratic Party as the two are currently running neck-and-neck in opinion polls.
Gentiloni said he would continue the policies of his predecessor. The issue raised concerns among some Democratic Party officials who fear that the continuation of the Gentiloni administration's policies would strengthen M5S.
Luigi Di Maio from M5S said every single day of a Gentiloni cabinet would be a bonus for his party. "They are digging their grave with their own hands."
Renzi, 41, announced his resignation on December 4 after he lost a constitutional reform referendum, which he had heavily backed and was aimed at reducing the role of the senate and limiting the power of regional governments. He had said a No vote at the referendum would mean an end to his government.
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