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Berlusconi faces showdown vote on EU reform package

Silvio Berlusconi was clinging to power last night, hoping to force a showdown vote in the Italian Parliament so that he can look his enemies in the eye.

“I want to see the faces of those who are trying to betray me,” he told the right-wing newspaper Libero. Facing a backbench rebellion in a budget vote today, the Italian Prime Minister was under pressure to stand down to calm financial markets.

He made an unscheduled trip to Milan to consult his children and coalition partners amid rumours that he would resign within hours but then used his Facebook page to deny the rumours and later insisted that he would push for a confidence vote, which his Government looks likely to win after the Italian President