‘I will survive,’ says Berlusconi ahead of confidence vote

ITALIAN prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has denounced what he called a campaign of lies and slander, and said he would survive tomorrow’s knife-edge confidence vote, as tens of thousands of protesters marched for a change of government.

The vote is expected to be so close President Giorgio Napolitano joked “only those with a crystal ball” could predict the result. Berlusconi said he expected victory in the vote in both houses of parliament that could trigger his downfall or see the resilient Italian leader bounce back once again.

“For several months Italian public life has been paralysed by an irresponsible political crisis,” he said in a message to his supporters.