Berlusconi Squeaks Through Second Confidence Vote

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi enjoying a coffee in the Senate today December 14 2010 during a confidence vote which the government won by 162 votes to 135.Photo by BGNES

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has won the extremely close second confidence vote, scheduled to determine if he should retain his position as leader of the government.

He secured the barest of majorities in a vote in the lower house of parliament. The MPs voted 314-311 in favor of the government.

Ahead of the vote, Berlusconi had urged the Italian MPs not to jeopardise the country's stability by ousting him

Earlier on Tuesday, the vote in the Italian Senate»s outcome was 162-135 with 11 abstentions in favor of the Italian's Prime Minister.

However, the vote in the Chamber of Deputies, the 630-seat lower house, was righteously expected by the Italian media to be much tougher for Berlusconi.

If he had lost, Berlusconi would have been forced to resign, halfway through the five-year term of parliament.

Silvio Berlusconi has been involved in a media turmoil lately, most recently following the claims that he used as much as ЕUR 400 000 in state funds to fly the controversial Bulgarian actor and director Michelle Bonev to the Venice film festival, along with their entourage, to receive a fabricated award

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