Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi faces second confidence vote
Baku, December 14 (AZERTAC). Italy`s PM Silvio Berlusconi is facing a vote of confidence in the lower house which could spark early elections.
He has already comfortably won the first round in the Senate, but the second vote is expected to be extremely close.
On Monday, Mr Berlusconi urged MPs not to jeopardise the country`s stability by ousting him.
But his critics say he is too mired in personal scandal and corruption allegations to remain in office.
Mr Berlusconi, 74, is halfway through a five-year term but his position has been weakened by the series of scandals, largely involving his relationships with women.
He has also lost the support of his former closest political ally, Gianfranco Fini, along with dozens of his supporters, depriving him of his automatic majority in the lower house.
Italy`s high youth unemployment, budget cuts and a crisis over refuse collection in Naples have added to his problems.
The BBC`s Duncan Kennedy in Rome said Mr Berlusconi appeared looking very serious in the Senate as the final speeches were made, although his victory was almost certain.
The result was announced slightly earlier than expected, with Mr Berlusconi winning 162 of the 309 votes - 11 senators abstained.
But victory in the lower house is less certain and could come down to one or two votes.
The atmosphere in the house prior to the vote was heated, as MPs presented their final speeches before the vote.
Antonio di Pietro, a former anti-corruption judge and now leader of the Italy of Values party, accused Mr Berlusconi of attempting to buy the vote.
He added: "One thing is for sure you don`t have the majority that allows you to govern anymore, you just don`t have it anymore."
His comments prompted an angry Mr Berlusconi - who has denied the allegations - to briefly walk out of the chamber.
Correspondents say the vote rests with a few key MPs, but that even if Mr Berlusconi does win and manages to convince MPs to broaden the base of his coalition, it will be difficult for him to continue to govern with only a one or two-vote majority in the Chamber of Deputies.
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