Submitted by Fox First at Ten on December 6th
By By The Associated Press
GOVERNMENT SPLIT: Concerns over the stability of the Italian government grew on Thursday after Silvio Berlusconi's party withdrew its support, threatening to bring a premature end to Premier Mario Monti's ambitious reforms program.
SITTING OUT: Berlusconi's center-right PDL party abstained from a confidence vote in the Senate on Thursday. Though Monti's government won the vote by 127 to 17, investors fear the move heralds a period of political uncertainty in the run-up to planned elections next year.
THE BACKGROUND: Many credit Monti with bringing back some investor confidence in the country, pulling it back from the edge of financial disaster it was teetering on last year.
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