STRASBOURG， Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Antonio Tajani of the European People's Party Group promised "total availability" to all political groups in an acceptance speech in Strasbourg after being elected President of the European Parliament on Tuesday evening.


"Allow me to thank all of you， those who voted for me and those who voted for my friend Gianni Pittella in this last round，" Tajani declared in his first speech from the head of the hemicycle， just minutes after the results were announced. "And I would like to thank all of those who voted for other candidates from other political groups."


"As I said today， I will be the President of all I will respect all members of Parliament and all groups，" the new head of the European Parliament insisted after his victory.


Tajani led the first three rounds of voting， but was not able to secure the absolute majority necessary to win earlier in the day.


After the grueling contest， he emerged victorious after defeating Gianni Pittella， leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats， in a final fourth voting round， by 351 votes to 282.


A founder of the Forza Italia party， Tajani is former European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship， and has a reputation for strong commitment to business and deep personal ethics.


At the end of his work at the European Commission， Tajani refused the so-called "golden handshake，" a three-year 468，000-euro(about 501，000 U.S. dollars) payout to former Commissioners intended to help them transition out of the public sector.


Tajani takes over the Presidency in a difficult time for European politics， with ongoing economic and migrant crises， internal and external security concerns， Brexit， and the ever-present threat of terrorism looming over the continent.


Critics on the left-wing of the hemicycle have accused President Tajani of being a supporter of failed austerity politics， with S&D Vice-President Udo Bullmann claiming in a press release last week that the Italian's election would lead to "three more years of disastrous neo-liberal economic policies."


For his part， Antonio Tajani promised to represent all interests， addressing his colleagues before the first round of voting in English， French， and his native Italian.


He also dedicated his victory to the victims of the recent earthquake that struck central Italy last October， many of whom are still in difficult conditions as a predicted cold snap descends on Europe this week: "I think we should express our solidarity to all of them， as well as we should express our solidarity to all the victims of terrorism. And those who are suffering at the moment. Those who are homeless and those that are unemployed."


President Tajani closed on a note of cooperation: "I think this is a common feeling which we all share. And I think this is the message Strasbourg should share with all our citizens."


He replaces outgoing Socialist President Martin Schulz， whom he thanked for the work he did during his mandate， and will serve a renewable 2.5-year term.


Tajani takes office immediately and， in his first duties， will oversee the election of 14 Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors on Wednesday.


Donald Trump has fallen further behind Hillary Clinton and now trails her by 8 points among likely voters Hydro Flask Vattenflaska Ombre 946ml Wide Mouth Vit/Svart , according to a new ReutersIpsos opinion poll, with 1 in 5 Republicans saying his vulgar comments about groping women disqualify him from the presidency.


The national tracking poll was launched after Sunday night's second presidential debate, where Trump was pressed to explain his comments in a 2005 videotape about grabbing women's genitalia. He described the remarks Hydro Flask Vattenflaska 532ml Wide Mouth Olive Grön , which first surfaced on Friday, as "locker room" banter and apologised to Americans.


The poll released on Tuesday showed Clinton, the Democratic nominee Hydro Flask Vattenflaska 18 OZ Wide Mouth Vit , had increased her lead over Trump, the Republican nominee, to 8 percentage points on Monday from 5 points last week.


When asked to pick between the two major-party candidates Hydro Flask Vattenflaska 18 OZ Wide Mouth Rosa , 45 percent of likely voters said they supported Clinton while 37 percent supported Trump. Another 18 percent said they would not support either candidate.


Trump was under pressure during Sunday's debate to restore confidence in his struggling campaign after dozens of lawmakers repudiated him over the weekend. He hammered Clinton's handling of classified information while serving as secretary of state and referred to her as "the devil." At one point, he said he would jail Clinton if he were president.


Among those who said they watched at least portions of the debate, 53 percent said Clinton won while 32 percent said Trump won. The results fell along partisan lines Hydro Flask Vattenflaska 532ml Wide Mouth Svart , however: 82 percent of Democrats felt Clinton won, while 68 percent of Republicans felt that Trump won.


Among likely voters who watched the debate, 48 percent said they supported Clinton while 38 percent supported Trump.


'LOCKER ROOM TALK'