Berlusconi’s U-turn saves Italian govt

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta won a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday after Silvio Berlusconi, facing revolt in his own party, backtracked on threats to bring down the government.

As dozens of centre-right senators prepared to defy their media magnate leader and salvage the left-right coalition led by Letta, Berlusconi staged an abrupt U-turn and said he too would back the centre-left prime minister, just days after he sparked the crisis by pulling his ministers out of Letta’s cabinet.

After a sometimes fiery debate in the upper house, in which he faced repeated accusations of sowing chaos in a bid to stave off his imminent expulsion from parliament following a tax fraud conviction, Berlusconi said: “We have decided, not without some internal strife, to support the government.”

Financial markets reacted positively, but the resolution of this crisis, seven months after an inconclusive election leaves big question marks over Letta’s ability to address deep problems in Italy’s economy which are troubling its partners in the euro.

Berlusconi’s belated declara tion of support for him brought a smile of astonishment from the prime minister, who by then seemed sure of victory with the support of centre-right rebels

Berlusconi masked his face with his hands after speak ing. In what may be one of his last acts in the Senate before the procedure for his removal begins on Friday, the 77-year old billionaire then cast his vote among 235 for Letta to continue in office.