Italy’s new Prime Minister Enrico Letta says he will move quickly to stimulate economic growth and jobs, while easing some of the unpopular austerity measures that a growing number believe are actually choking the economy.

In his debut before Parliament, PM Letta told lawmakers that without economic growth, “Italy will be lost”, and that is why his most-urgent priority is to reverse the downward spiral in what he called one of the “most complex and painful seasons” in Italy’s history.

Also among the details in Letta’s economic program are a series of tax cuts for small and medium businesses; delaying a Value-Added Tax (VAT) that had been scheduled for the summer and would have slammed consumers; and canceling the June payment the very unpopular housing tax.  Letta says the latter move will “give oxygen to families” to get their finances together while Parliament reforms the tax.

Scrapping that housing tax had been a priority of the right-wing bloc led by former Prime Minister Sylvio Berlusconi.

In a move to appease the insurgent M5S “Five Star Movement” which captured a quarter of votes in February’s election, Letta proposes abolishing the stipend that ministers receive on top of their salary as members of Parliament.