Italian MEP Antonio Tajani is the new president of the European Parliament.<br /><br /> He beat his centre-left compatriot Gianni Pittella by 351 votes to 282.<br /><br /> It took four rounds of voting for Tajani to emerge victorious.<br /><br /> He is an ally of ex-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and a former European commissioner.<br /><br /> Tajani replaces Germany’s Martin Schulz who stands down after five years.<br /><br /> The close run battle brings to an end the Grand Coalition deal that was signed in 2014 and led to critics to brand the European Parliament as rubber stamp body.<br />
