Italy's Berlusconi wins key confidence vote

AFP October 15, 2011, 1:39 am

ROME (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a crucial confidence vote in parliament on Friday with a comfortable majority that is however unlikely to reassure financial markets or put an end to growing calls for him to resign.
The centre-right coalition won with 316 votes in favour and 301 against, following a series of rows within the government as well as growing criticism over Berlusconi's handling of the economy at a volatile time for the debt-hit eurozone.
The opposition "has behaved ignominiously in front of Italians and I hope Italians take this absolutely negative behaviour into account," Berlusconi told reporters shortly before the vote, assuring supporters that the "ambush" against him would fail.
"Berlusconi is the last of the Mohicans, the only person who thinks 316 votes will solve his problems," Pier Ferdinando Casini, head of the opposition UDC party, said after the vote.
"The confidence was a predictable victory but a Pyrrhic one because nothing leads one to think that the government will succeed in governing from tomorrow," he said.
Rosy Bindi, a leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said: "The majority is crumbling and this confidence vote is only enough to get to the next confidence vote."
Protesters threw eggs at parliament and chanted "Shame! Shame!" as the result of the vote came through. Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets of Rome on Saturday in a protest inspired by the "Indignados" and "Occupy Wall Street" movements.
The 75-year-old Berlusconi has come under heavy pressure in recent months due to a series of scandals including criminal charges of having paid for sex last year with then 17-year-old nightclub dancer Karima El-Mahroug, nicknamed "Ruby the Heart Stealer".
His popularity has tanked to 24 percent, according to the latest opinion poll.
Berlusconi was forced to turn to parliament to confirm its support after the ruling coalition suffered an embarrassing setback on Tuesday when it was unexpectedly defeated in a low-profile but important technical vote linked to the country's budget.
But Berlusconi has repeatedly fought off critics saying the centre-right and the leftist opposition have failed to come up with any viable alternatives and warning that bids to oust him could further hurt Italy's position on jittery markets.
"There is no alternative to this government," he told parliament on Thursday, sneering that the opposition was "united only by its anti-Berlusconism."
"Early elections would not solve the problems we have. ... A political crisis now would mean victory for the party of decline, catastrophe and speculation," he said.
Political activists slammed the embattled premier's speech on Thursday as lacking in concrete proposals to tackle Italy's most pressing problems -- from high youth unemployment to weak growth -- and it failed to reassure political commentators.
The Corriere della Sera newspaper spoke of an "atmosphere of interminable agony which weighs on the government." Stefano Folli of the daily Il Sole 24 Ore commented: "We are living through the long decline of a government."
"The next crisis is just round the corner and the chances that this government will run its full term to 2013 are decreasing by the minute," said James Walston, a professor of international relations at the American University in Rome.
He said Berlusconi had "a disintegrating coalition" and a "zombie government".
Former Berlusconi allies such as ex-economic development minister Claudio Scajola have begun voicing their discontent with the political status quo, and there have been rumours for months as to where Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti's allegiances lie.
Berlusconi is currently a defendant in three trials for bribery, tax fraud, abuse of power and sex-for-money.
His joke last week that his party should change its name to "Go Pussy!" fell flat and incensed many who are concerned that he is damaging Italy's image abroad.
Political uncertainty in Italy and its effect on economic policy was cited as a key factor for recent sovereign debt downgrades by ratings agencies Standard & Poor's, Fitch and Moody's.
Some commentators have said this week's events in parliament are just one more step in the decline of Berlusconi's political career, which began in the early 1990s. Others however argue that it is too early to dismiss the savvy Berlusconi.

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