Aryanews-  Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, facing splits in his own party, wants to ease the pressure on his centre-right government by securing quick parliamentary approval of a package of austerity measures.
The government aims to win Senate backing on Thursday and then put the measures -- including cuts in public sector pay -- to the lower house for final approval by the end of the month.
Berlusconi, enduring one of the rockiest periods of his latest two-year premiership, has twisted arms by attaching the vote to a confidence motion and warning his fractious partners that the government will fall if the package is not passed.
"The country, in this phase where it is emerging from the global economic crisis, needs precise choices, responsibility and full scope for government," Berlusconi said in a statement.
The prime minister is suffering falling approval ratings and is in open conflict with Gianfranco Fini, the speaker of parliament and co-founder of his People of Freedom party.
Two ministers have had to resign over corruption allegations and, in the latest scandal, a clutch of politicians including an undersecretary at the economy ministry and a senior People of Freedom official are under investigation for influence-peddling.
Expectations that the government could collapse before the summer break in August have faded, largely because neither Berlusconi nor Fini appears to want a breakdown just yet and the government still holds a commanding majority in parliament.
But the toxic climate has fed daily press speculation over the future of the ruling coalition and complicated efforts to pass 25 billion euro ($31.49 billion) in austerity measures to shore up Italy's badly strained public finances.