Berlusconi survives vote

ROME – Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday survived his first test in parliament since the breakup with a powerful ally, a victory that leaves his conservative government safely in place at least until after the summer.

But the vote also exposed the erosion of Berlusconi’s majority after the split with longtime ally Gianfranco Fini, possibly giving the Italian leader a taste of troubles to come.

In a vote in the lower house of parliament, Berlusconi’s lawmakers defeated an opposition censure motion against a government official implicated in a corruption scandal.

The 299-229 vote was parliament’s last significant political act until September.