Ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi has performed a U-turn in an Italian no-confidence vote and says he will now support the government.
It was Berlusconi's demand that five ministers from his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) leave the government that had brought the vote.
But it became clear that several of his senators would vote for the government.
PM Enrico Letta had earlier said that if he were defeated in the vote, it might prove fatal for Italy.
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says senior figures in Berlusconi's party had indicated they would not support him and it was clear he had badly overreached himself.
Our correspondent says Berlusconi has been forced into a humiliating climbdown and will emerge a weakened figure, with his capacity to influence Italian politics diminished.
When he finally rose to speak in the Senate, Berlusconi said: "Italy needs a government that can produce structural and institutional reforms. We have decided, not without internal strife, to back the confidence vote."
In his address to the Senate, Mr Letta had defended his government's performance and said Italy "runs a risk, a fatal risk" if it were to fall.
He said: "Give us your confidence to realise [our] objectives. Give us your confidence for all that has been accomplished... a confidence vote for Italy and Italians.''
Mr Letta had needed 161 votes in the Senate but could only count on the support of about 137 members, meaning he needed about 25 votes from others.
Italian media say a majority of senators at a PDL gathering had voted in favour of opposing the government but it became clear that a group of about 25 dissidents would help give Mr Letta the numbers he needed.
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