Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi survived a key confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament Friday, averting for now a government crisis in the euro zone's third-largest economy at a time when the country is struggling to fight the European debt crisis.
Mr. Berlusconi survived the confidence call with a 316 to 301 vote. The majority required to triumph in the vote was 309. It was the eighth such vote in 2011 and the ninth in the past 12 months for the prime minister, who has used confidence votes to cajole his volatile center-right majority coalition into cohesion.
However, Mr. Berlusconi's grip on power has been recently questioned by Italy's main political and financial institutions and business leaders. Critics say that, while the Italian premier was supported by enough lawmakers to remain in power until the end of his mandate, he no longer wields the authority to push through painful economic reforms needed to reboot Italy's stagnant economy.
Mr. Berlusconi sounded defiant immediately before the results of the vote were announced, saying he will address the urgent problems the country is facing, including finalizing a long-awaited growth-boosting package.
"This ambush has failed," Mr. Berlusconi said, referring to the center-left opposition, which tried to put in place filibustering tactics to win the vote and force Mr. Berlusconi to step down.
The Italian premier has recently insisted there is no role for a technocrat government as the country grapples with investors' doubts about its €1.9 trillion ($2.618 trillion) in public debt and the weakest growth rate in the euro zone.
read more: Olympus Wealth Management
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