Berlusconi Wins Vote, Loses Majority

Silvio Berlusconi was holding on for dear life in advance of today's critical budget vote, and now it looks as if he's hanging by a quickly fraying thread. The Italian PM won the much-watched vote in Parliament, but lost his majority. He won just 308 of 630 possible votes; 321 abstained, and no one voted against, reports the AP. The opposition then immediately called for Berlusconi's resignation, and pressed him to start talks with President Giorgio Napolitano about a new government, reports the Wall Street Journal. (More Silvio Berlusconi stories.)