PM Mario Monti set for second confidence vote

The technocratic government of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is set to face a crucial confidence vote in the lower house of parliament.The Chamber of Deputies began debating the reforms on Friday, a day after Mr Monti easily won a vote in the upper house - the Senate.The new prime minister has promised to fight tax evasion and reform pensions to bring down Italy's debt.Ahead of Friday's vote, he had a brief meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.Mr Monti is under considerable pressure to act quickly after Italy's borrowing costs again reached unsustainable levels, despite dropping to safer territory early this week following his appointment.He was sworn in on Sunday to lead a government of experts - including fellow professors, bankers and businessmen - after the country's worsening financial crisis forced out veteran leader Silvio Berlusconi.The prime minister met the Pope at Rome's Fiumicino airport, as the pontiff was preparing to leave for a visit to the African state of Benin.They chatted briefly next to the plane before shaking hands.The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says almost all the major political parties have signalled that - at least for now - they will support Mr Monti's administration.But, our correspondent adds, Silvio Berlusconi retains substantial support in parliament, and he has reportedly said that he will bring down the new government if he does not like the path it takes.On Thursday, the government won the vote in the upper house of parliament easily, by 281 votes to 25.Only one party, the right-wing Northern League - Mr Berlusconi's former coalition partner - withheld its support from Mr Monti.Addressing senators on Thursday, Mario Monti promised to respect Italy's timetable to balance its budget by 2013 and reduce its debt, but said austerity measures would be balanced by economic growth and social fairness."The future of the euro also depends on what Italy will do in the next few weeks," the former EU commissioner said before the vote.Mr Monti said he intended to overhaul the pension system which he said "has large disparities in treatment and unjustified privileges for certain sectors".He also said there would be a crackdown on tax evasion and changes to the taxation system.He said the absence of a locally gathered property tax on houses classed as first homes was an Italian "anomaly". The tax - known in Italy as the ICI tax - was abolished under Mr Berlusconi.He added that his government would introduce incentives for companies to employ more women and young people."If we fail, if we don't carry out the necessary reforms, we will also be subjected to much harsher conditions," Mr Monti said.He said economic growth would also involve a crackdown on the Mafia.But the unelected leader has already faced widespread protests, by people angry at growing unemployment and further austerity.