The League's Lorenzo Fontana, the
deputy to party leader Matteo Salvini, was elected Speaker of
the Lower House on Friday.
The 42-year-old former family and disabilities minister and
ex-EU affairs minister prevailed in the fourth round of voting,
when the threshold of MPs' votes needed went down from
two-thirds to a simple majority.
He got 222 votes, comfortably over the 197 needed.
"I thank those who voted and those who did not," Fontana said.
"It will be my honour to preside over parliament".
A conservative Catholic, critics have accused Fontana of being
against LGBT+ rights and abortion, and of being sympathetic to
Russia.
During the voting on Friday, Rachele Scarpa and Alessandro Zan,
lawmakers for the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), held up a
large banner that read: "No to a homophobic, pro-Putin Speaker".
Friday's vote lacked the drama of Senate Speaker Ignazio La
Russa's election on Thursday.
La Russa, the co-founder of likely next premier Giorgia Meloni's
right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, prevailed even though
FdI's centre-right allies in Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia
(FI) did not vote for him.
Berlusconi said this move was linked to "unease" about vetoes
imposed in the negotiations for the formation of the new
government, but La Russa was elected anyway thanks to votes from
some members of opposition parties.
"We are moving forward at pace," said Meloni.
"I'm happy and I congratulate Fontana".
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