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| Italy crisis: Berlusconi U-turn on confidence vote | Italy crisis: Berlusconi U-turn on confidence vote |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi has performed a U-turn in an Italian confidence vote and says he will now support the government. | |
| It was Berlusconi's demand that five ministers from his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) leave the government that had prompted the vote. | |
| But it became clear that several of his senators would back the government. | |
| PM Enrico Letta had earlier said that if he were defeated in the vote, it might prove fatal for Italy. | |
| 'Internal strife' | |
| The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says senior figures in Berlusconi's party had indicated they would not support him and it was clear he had badly overreached himself. | The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says senior figures in Berlusconi's party had indicated they would not support him and it was clear he had badly overreached himself. |
| Our correspondent says Berlusconi has been forced into a humiliating climbdown and will emerge a weakened figure, with his capacity to influence Italian politics diminished. | Our correspondent says Berlusconi has been forced into a humiliating climbdown and will emerge a weakened figure, with his capacity to influence Italian politics diminished. |
| When he finally rose to speak in the Senate, Berlusconi said: "Italy needs a government that can produce structural and institutional reforms. We have decided, not without internal strife, to back the confidence vote." | When he finally rose to speak in the Senate, Berlusconi said: "Italy needs a government that can produce structural and institutional reforms. We have decided, not without internal strife, to back the confidence vote." |
| In his address to the Senate, Mr Letta had defended his government's performance and said Italy "runs a risk, a fatal risk" if it were to fall. | |
| He said: "Give us your confidence to realise [our] objectives. Give us your confidence for all that has been accomplished... a confidence vote for Italy and Italians.'' | |
| Mr Letta had needed 161 votes in the Senate but could only count on the support of about 137 members, meaning he needed about 25 votes from others. | |
| The Senate vote is yet to take place and a further vote will be needed in the chamber of deputies later. However, Mr Letta has a majority there. | |
| Italian media say a majority of senators at a PDL gathering had voted in favour of opposing the government but it became clear that a group of about 25 dissidents would help give Mr Letta the numbers he needed. | |
| 'Alibi' | |
| Berlusconi had accused Mr Letta of allowing his "political assassination through judicial means" - a reference to Berlusconi's criminal conviction for tax fraud in August. | |
| But Mr Letta refused to accept the resignation of the five PDL ministers and called the vote of confidence. | |
| Berlusconi's plan to bring the government down began to unravel when his deputy and party secretary, Angelino Alfano, said that PDL MPs should back Mr Letta. | |
| Mr Alfano's comments had caused the Italian stock market to jump on Tuesday as investors appeared increasingly confident that the government would not fall. | |
| The prime minister accused Berlusconi of using the issue as an "alibi" for his own personal concerns. | |
| Analysts say the crisis threatened to hamper badly needed reforms to tackle Italy's economic problems that include debt, recession and high youth unemployment. | |
| Mr Letta's cross-party alliance was formed in April after two months of political deadlock following an inconclusive election. | |
| Berlusconi dominated Italian politics for nearly two decades before resigning in November 2011, in the midst of a storm over the failing economy. |