Italian lawmakers passed Saturday the populist government’s revised 2019 budget before a year-end deadline, despite complaints from the opposition that it was dictated by Brussels and had been rammed through without debate.
The coalition of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League party expressed their approval with a vote of confidence that saw 327 deputies for and 228 against, with one abstention.
Key measures in the big-spending budget were watered down as the government tried to avoid being punished by the European Commission and financial markets.
Senators passed the draft last week with a vote of confidence that avoided discussing around 700 amendments put forward by the government but provoked acrimonious scenes over the lack of substantive debate.
Similar scenes were repeated on Friday in the lower house, where the session was suspended after copies of the budget were thrown around, and in the chamber on Saturday.
If next year’s budget had not passed before December 31, the government would have been forced to continue to function on a monthly basis using the 2018 budget.
“There was no deliberate wish by the government to avoid…
