BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta has crossed the first of two hurdles to his prime ministership by winning a confidence vote in Parliament. True to his promise made immediately after appointment by Italian President Napolitano last week, Letta promised to press for a change to the EU’s focus on austerity and pursue economic growth and jobs centric polices.

Letta said on Monday in his maiden speech to parliament that Italy must focus immediately on reviving its economy and that under his leadership, the country will lobby the EU for a greater push to growth-oriented policies at the EU level.

Letta also said he would visit leaders in Brussels, Paris and Berlin to demonstrate the importance Italy attached to EU-wide economic strategy. He said it was his government’s intention to stop the scheduled June installment of a hated property tax and that he would weigh a wider reform of the levy.

The lower house confidence motion in his right-left coalition government passed easily as expected, with 453 votes votes in favor and 153 against. Letta now faces a crucial second confidence vote in the upper house Senate on Tuesday.

(Source: CNTV.cn)