Letta's government saved after Berlusconi's U-turn

Italian Premier Enrico Letta has won a confidence vote after a last-minute U-turn by former PM Silvio Berlusconi.

Berlusconi had initially demanded that five ministers from his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) leave the government, prompting the vote.

But he backed down when it became clear that several of his senators would back the government.

Letta had earlier said that if he were defeated in the vote, it might prove fatal for Italy.

A three-time prime minister, Berlusconi has been forced into a humiliating climb-down 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."

Former Interior Minister Angelino Alfano and Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi, who handed in their resignations on Berlusconi’s orders on Saturday, called on the PdL to back Letta in the Senate vote.

Critics had accused the media tycoon of putting his own interests before those of the country.