Italy passes austerity plan

ITALIAN prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has won a confidence vote on a much-altered austerity plan aimed at stemming a debt crisis engulfing the eurozone’s third largest economy.

The vote on the €54 billion mix of tax hikes and spending cuts passed in the lower house of parliament by 14 votes.

The focus now shifts to whether a weak and scandal-plagued government can implement the promised reforms and whether more austerity measures will be needed.