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The Italian PM’s embattled government survives after winning an absolute majority – of one Silvio Berlusconi’s embattled government scraped through a confidence vote on Friday, winning what even one of his own deputies called a “pyrrhic victory”. The 316 to 301 result left him with an absolute majority of just one in the lower house of the Italian parliament. But it was a better outcome than had been feared minutes earlier as three of the prime minister’s supporters unexpectedly announced they were deserting him. Constitutionally, Berlusconi could have survived with a simple majority of votes cast. But government whips wanted an outright majority to stem mounting dissidence within the ranks of the prime minister’s Freedom People (PdL) movement and convince the electorate that his administration could continue to govern. Recent weeks have seen the emergence of a rebel faction, led by Claudio Scajola, a former minister. Though Scajola, who resigned in an alleged corruption scandal last year, voted for the government, several of his fellow rebels decided to abstain. Among others who abandoned Berlusconi was Santo Versace, the brother of the designers Donatella and the late Gianni Versace. With majority whips alternately cajoling and haranguing doubters, everything possible was done to bring out the vote in favour of the prime minister and his beleaguered administration. One of Berlusconi’s deputies went through the division lobby on crutches with a leg in plaster. The prime minister sought the confidence vote after his government failed on Tuesday to secure approval for the 2010 public accounts. Berlusconi has been struggling to get legislation through the lower house ever since last year when his former lieutenant, Gianfranco Fini, walked out of his party, taking with him several other deputies previously loyal to the government. Before the vote, Italy’s billionaire prime minister had appealed to the chamber to back him, saying Italy needed stability at a time of economic crisis. But his pledge to battle on helped send share prices tumbling on the Milan stock exchange and raised the already unsustainably high interest rate on Italian government debt. The reaction in the markets was a clear sign that investors are less concerned now about stability than government paralysis. With a fragile majority and his credibility in shreds because of the numerous scandals and trials in which he is involved, Berlusconi has appeared incapable of reacting effectively to the simmering debt crisis in the eurozone. Many of the potential rebels among his followers and allies would nevertheless prefer to bring him down in January. That would open the way for an election in the spring – a better moment than mid-winter for persuading sceptical voters Italy can make a new start under the right. Berlusconi returned to power in 2008 promising his government would never “put its hands in the pockets of the Italian people”. But as the eurozone debt crisis has spread, it has been forced to approve a string of austerity packages that have raised taxes and other levies, including VAT. The austerity packages may reduce the government deficit. But they risk constraining Italy’s already weak potential for economic growth. Berlusconi’s government has so far been unable to come up with a credible plan for reanimating the economy. Its policy – or lack of one – has been fiercely criticised by both trade unions and employers’ groups. One of Berlusconi’s serving ministers, Giancarlo Galan, who holds the culture and heritage portfolio, said he wanted to see the prime minister embark on a programme of reforms to free up the economy. “If he doesn’t manage it, it would be better to have elections,” he told a local newspaper. The president, Giorgio Napolitano, has said he will not dissolve parliament for as long as Berlusconi’s government enjoys the confidence of parliament. In an effort to underline the seriousness of the political crisis in Italy, the main opposition parties boycotted Berlusconi’s speech to the house on Thursday. Silvio Berlusconi Italy Europe John Hooper guardian.co.uk