Berlusconi Wins Senate Vote, Setting Up Lower House Showdown
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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a confidence vote in the Senate, setting up a showdown over his political fate in the lower house as the threat of violent protests forced authorities to block access to central Rome.
Berlusconi triumphed in the upper house, where he has a majority, by 162 to 135, Senate Speaker Renato Schifani said. The survival of the government will be decided by the lower house, where final results may come by 2 p.m.