Letta's Grand Coalition Wins Confidence Vote with Berlusconi Support

         
           Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s center-left-right government won a vote of confidence in the Italian Parliament yesterday.

           I had reported in my previous post that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had withdrawn his support for the executive because of Letta’s center-right government's effort to remove him from office in accordance with his sentence for corruption.  After a majority of the main center-right party expressed support for the Government, Berlusconi changed his strategy and decided to back the shaky government. Nevertheless, according to the Italian News Agency, ANSA, the process has produced a split within the People of Liberty Party, with Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano breaking with the former Premier.

           For now, the vote ends the political crisis in Italy and restores a degree of investor confidence in its critically-important economy.