ITALY’S new populist government won the first of two votes of confidence needed to start governing after its leader denounced Europe’s “failed” immigration policy and warned Tuesday that his Cabinet would renegotiate Italy’s fiscal obligations so it can help struggling Italians.

The 5-Star-League alliance secured 171 votes in favor from Parliament’s upper chamber, well beyond the minimum needed to pass. Another 116 senators voted against the coalition government and 25 abstained.

Lawmakers in the lower Chamber of Deputies, where the two parties also have a majority, were set to cast confidence votes later yesterday that would launch western Europe’s first populist government.

In his inaugural policy address ahead of the Senate vote, Premier Giuseppe Conte readily acknowledged that the 5-Star-League partnership marks a radical shift from the Italian status quo.

“If ‘populism’ is the attitude of leaders to listen to the people ... and if ‘anti-system’ means introducing a new system that removes the old privileges of power, then this government deserves both these descriptions,” said the premier, who was sworn into his first political office Friday.

Conte, who until last week was still teaching law classes at the University of Florence, was interrupted with applause nearly three dozen times during his 75-minute speech.

Conte sought to assuage fears in Europe about his fiscal program, but he offered no details on financing Tuesday and limited his comments to responding to concerns that Italy at some point might leave the eurozone.

“Do we have to repeat it? Leaving the euro was never up for discussion. It is not up for discussion,” he said. “The issue is another: Is it legitimate or not for a government of a country to re-negotiate economic policy?”

Fears of a possible exit strategy were stoked when an early draft of the government’s policy agenda leaked, showing plans to delineate rules to leave the euro and for the European Central Bank to cancel 250 million euros in debt. Those points were dropped in the final policy document.

Conte also said Italy was a “convinced” member of NATO and reaffirmed its “traditionally privileged” alliance with the United States.

However, he also called for the lifting of European Union sanctions on Russia, citing Moscow’s strategic role internationally and the risk that sanctions will crush Russian civil society.

But he said the rest of the EU must take on a greater burden of accepting refugees as well as negotiating with migrants’ home countries and helping send back those who don’t qualify for asylum. (SD-Agencies)