Berlusconi ' s fate lies in hands of swing lawmakers
Silvio Berlusconi
If Berlusconi wins  he is assured of more time in office  even though a razor-thin majority is no guarantee of stability. If he loses  he has to resign -- a move that might lead to early elections.
 Berlusconi has been trying to persuade undecided lawmakers -- drawing accusations of vote-buying and even an investigation by Rome prosecutors. He has rejected any such accusations  but appeared to have succeeded at least with a few lawmakers.
 On Monday  Berlusconi appeared before both houses of parliament to press his case that lawmakers should continue to support his government.
 He insisted that his government had successfully protected Italy from becoming engulfed by the eurozone's debt crisis. He warned they risked plunging Italy into financial instability at a time of crisis if they force him to step down and end Italy's 62nd postwar government.
If [TGT] wins  [TGT] is assured of more time in office  even though a razor-thin majority is no guarantee of stability. If [TGT] loses  [TGT] has to resign -- a move that might lead to early elections.
 [TGT] has been trying to persuade undecided lawmakers -- drawing accusations of vote-buying and even an investigation by Rome prosecutors. [TGT] has rejected any such accusations  but appeared to have succeeded at least with a few lawmakers.
 On Monday  [TGT] appeared before both houses of parliament to press [TGT] case that lawmakers should continue to support [TGT] government.
 [TGT] insisted that [TGT] government had successfully protected Italy from becoming engulfed by the eurozone's debt crisis. [TGT] warned they risked plunging Italy into financial instability at a time of crisis if they force [TGT] to step down and end Italy's 62nd postwar government.