The 299-229 vote was parliament’s last political significant act until next month. It was seen as a test of strength for Berlusconi.
“This is a signal that we’re staying on and that there is no election now,’’ said Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League government party and, at this point, Berlusconi’s staunchest partner.
Lawmakers loyal to Fini abstained from the voting. Fini’s 33 deputies formed their own breakaway parliamentary group in the wake of the breakup, potentially depriving Berlusconi’s coalition of a majority in the lower house.
Yesterday’s decision to abstain kept Berlusconi afloat but also showed that the premier’s grip is loosening and gave a measure of Fini’s clout.
Fini’s lawmakers sided with a group of centrist and moderate deputies, bringing the number of abstentions to 75. That is a significant force in the 630-member lower house, and there has been speculation that the lawmakers would merge into a single party.
Abstaining “is quite enough to signal that this is a major problem in Berlusconi’s majority. What is going to happen next is very difficult to foretell,’’ said Giovanni Orsina, political science professor at Rome’s LUISS university.
“Maybe they will still find a way to work together,’’ he said, “or maybe their roads are going to get more and more separated, and this means that there is a possibility . . . of an early dissolution of parliament and elections.’’
Berlusconi’s spectacular split with Fini played out with venomous accusations on both sides. Fini, currently serving as speaker of the lower house, had been an ally since Berlusconi’s entry into politics 16 years ago and is the cofounder of the People of Freedom party.
The two had bickered for months on a number of issues, most notably morality in politics in the wake of scandals hitting coalition members. Fini has taken a harsher stance than Berlusconi, demanding that public officials suspected of corruption resign.
