Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi put his centre-left government on the line on Tuesday when he called a confidence vote after the defection of an ally robbed him of a majority. A former minister dealt the government a potentially fatal blow on Monday by withdrawing his party's support, leaving Prodi outnumbered in the Senate (upper house).
The opposition called for Prodi to resign. Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa warned the political crisis had come at "the least appropriate moment to interrupt the work underway" on improving Italy's public finances.
Prodi had little alternative but to quit or submit his leadership to a confidence vote - for the 32nd time since he came to power in 2006 after beating conservative prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in the closest elections in Italy's history.
"Only parliament can decide the fate of the government," he told the lower house where his comfortable majority should mean victory in the confidence vote - a tool he has mostly used to push through legislation - at 1600 GMT on Wednesday. He also faces a vote on Thursday at 1900 GMT in the Senate.
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