Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's new government won a vote of confidence in the Senate on Thursday, a day after it got the approval of the lower house of parliament.

Berlusconi won the vote by 170 to 117 in the Senate. By the two approvals, Berlusconi, in office since 2001, will remain in power for another year.

Berlusconi was forced to temporarily resign last week and reshuffle his government after two key allies, the rightist National Alliance (AN) and the centrist, Catholic UDC, demanded a policy overhaul to give more attention to the south, the economy and lower-income families following a regional election defeat.

In a 30-minute address to the Senate prior to the vote, Berlusconi vowed to carry out an economic platform that includes tax cuts for businesses and a new push to lift Italy's poorer south, as well as help for families whose buying power he says has decreased since the introduction of the euro.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2005))