Italy’s Letta Wins Confidence Vote as Berlusconi Backs Down
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Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta won confidence votes in parliament today after Silvio Berlusconi backtracked on a pledge to bring down the five-month-old government as his party showed signs of deserting him.
Letta won the support of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, where he has a solid majority. Earlier today in Rome, the prime minister was supported by 235 senators with 70 opposed. That followed by hours former Premier Berlusconi’s announcement that he would support the government, reversing an earlier pledge to oppose Letta.