Violence flares as Berlusconi survives confidence vote

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed his reputation as the great survivor of Italian politics on Tuesday after narrowly defeating a no-confidence motion by just a handful of votes. But the gruelling parliament session left his grip on power hanging by a thread.

The 74-year-old prime minister appeared to be doomed after the defection of his erstwhile ally Gianfranco Fini had seemingly deprived him of a majority in the lower house of parliament.

But in the world of Roman politics, where bitter foes can turn into allies overnight, some last-minute changes of heart were to be expected. And once again, the cracks appeared not in Berlusconi’s own ranks, but in those of his opponents.

In the end, a no-confidence motion brought by the centre-left opposition in the lower house of parliament was defeated by 314 votes to 311 after three opposition members switched sides and another two abstained. Berlusconi had earlier won a confidence vote in the Senate by a comfortable margin.

France 24’s correspondent in Rome, Jospehine McKenna, said the vote’s result was met with “pandemonium” both in parliament and in the streets of Rome, where anti-Berlusconi campaigners clashed with riot police.

Scores were injured as protesters set fire to cars and threw paint and smoke bombs at government buildings in the Italian capital, while street action spread to cities across the country.

Claims Berlusconi’s party sought to buy votes from centrist and left-leaning lawmakers have added to the tension in recent days and prompted the launch of an inquiry.

Fini defeated

Fini, whose fall-out with Berlusconi over the summer triggered the current political crisis, conceded that his Future and Freedom (Fli) movement had suffered a "painful" defeat. But he warned that Berlusconi would struggle to carry on with a wafer-thin majority.

Once Berlusconi’s closest ally, Fini now claims the “Cavaliere” has put his personal interests ahead of the country’s and is no longer fit to head the government.

Speaking to the country’s senators on Monday, Berlusconi questioned the wisdom and legitimacy of those seeking to unseat him at a time of turmoil on financial markets.

“Only the Italian people can decide whether a government has failed and should be removed,” the media tycoon said, challenging Fini’s supporters to “betray the will of the people by seeking an alliance with the left”.

Italy’s flamboyant prime minister, who is half way through his third term in office, claimed credit for keeping the country’s economy afloat during the financial crisis. “I can say with absolute certainty that Italy is not part of the economic problems in Europe – it has become part of the solution,” he said.

While he has pulled off yet another upset with Tuesday’s vote, the “Cavaliere” still faces an uphill battle with a dwindling majority and an approval rate eroded by multiple sex scandals, a resurgent rubbish crisis in Naples and growing unemployment among Italian youths.

“Berlusconi knows very well he cannot carry on like this, and he is already working to build a larger majority,” said Antonio Polito of Italian daily Il Riformista, in an interview with France 24.

Speaking soon after the vote, Berlusconi said he would reach out to centrists in the opposition in order to avoid an early election that would be "damaging" for the country.