Silvio Berlusconi consolidates power with crucial vote

PREMIER Silvio Berlusconi won a confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies by a wide margin last night.

Mr Berlusconi had staked his coalition's survival on the outcome of the vote in the lower chamber of Parliament.

He won 342 votes in favour of his government compared with 275 votes against. There were 3 abstentions.

Shaken by a nasty split with one of his two main coalition partners over the summer, Mr Berlusconi called the vote to confirm he could still command a comfortable majority in the legislature, which is halfway through its five-year term.

He argued that Italy must be spared political instability at a time of financial woes. Had he lost the vote yesterday, which was his 74th birthday, he would have been obliged to resign, paving the way for possible early elections.