Italy's new government, headed by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, has won a critical confidence vote in the lower house of parliament.
Ahead of the vote, Renzi says radical steps are needed to revive an economy which has barely grown for the last 15 years.
"What is most important to note is that outside of this parliament nobody no longer believes that things be get done. Therefore, risking everything we can risk we have decided to accelerate a process that foresees the implementation of reforms within precise deadlines and includes a concrete evaluation of our work because after what we have said there will be no excuses. This is the only way for us to be able to say that politics is something serious and necessary."
The former mayor of Florence now takes charge of a government he put together following the inter-party ouster of former Prime Minister Enrico Letta earlier this month.
Italy has gone through four prime ministers in four years.
The European Commission has revised down its forecast for Italian economic growth for this year to 0.6 percent from a previous estimate of 0.7 percent.
The Commission is also anticipating unemployment is also going to come in higher than previously predicted at 12.6-percent for this year.
