Italians shocked after violent protests against Berlusconi

ITALIANS voiced shock yesterday after violent protests set off by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s narrow victory in a vote in parliament that leaves his government hanging by a thread.

Berlusconi survived a no-confidence vote in the lower house by just three votes on Tuesday, following the rebellion of speaker Gianfranco Fini who left the ruling coalition with his allies earlier this year.

The victory ignited running street battles between hundreds of anti-Berlusconi protesters and riot police in which more than 100 people were injured in the tourist-heavy centre of the Italian capital.