Silvio Berlusconi wins Italy confidence vote
Baku, December 14 (AZERTAC). Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has won a vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament.
He won by a margin of three votes, following a tense session of the house and amid large protests in the capital.
Mr Berlusconi also won an earlier vote in the Senate. He had urged MPs not to jeopardise the country`s stability by ousting him.
His critics argue 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 a series of scandals largely involving his relationships with women.
He has also lost the support of his closest political ally, Gianfranco Fini, along with dozens of his supporters, depriving him of his automatic majority in the lower house.
But in the final vote, two opposition deputies switched sides and he won the vote by 314 votes to 311.
The BBC`s Duncan Kennedy in Rome says although Mr Berlusconi`s lobbying has paid off for now, he will still face considerable opposition to his leadership.
Thousands of people have gathered in Rome and Italy`s other major cities to demand a change in government.
Police have fired tear gas on the protesters in Rome and several explosions - thought to be fireworks - have been heard.
The protesters threw eggs, paint and stones at the Senate building.
In the Sicilian regional capital, Palermo, 500 students occupied the main airport runway.
In Turin in the north, students occupied the railway station, while in Venice, they held a demonstration on the famous Rialto Bridge.
Mr Berlusconi has become notorious for his gaffes. At a dinner with his MPs the night before the vote, the newspaper Corriere della Sera quotes him as saying: "I am unable to say 'no', I have never been able to, I've been lucky that no gay person has ever come to proposition me."
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