Italian premier survives vote of confidence

THE government of Italy’s premier Silvio Berlusconi won a vote of confidence in parliament, gambling on a bid to push through a bitterly-contested pension reform bill and dampen internal squabbling in the centre-right coalition.

The Chamber of Deputies voted 333-148 to support the reform after the left-wing opposition declared its objections to both the pension overhaul and the confidence vote strategy, used by the government lately to keep bickering allies in line.

Had the government lost, it would have been forced to resign.