Berlusconi wins budget vote but loses absolute majority

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi failed to muster an absolute majority in a routine parliamentary ballot, fuelling further calls for him to resign as Italy struggles to convince investors it can fund itself.

The 630-seat Chamber of Deputies approved the measure with 308 votes, Speaker Gianfranco Fini said in Rome today. The lower house had failed to pass the report in an initial ballot last month, prompting a confidence motion won by Berlusconi with ...