Italy has been saying a long goodbye to Silvio Berlusconi ever since his first government collapsed in 1994 after a few months. But by scraping through a confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday, the scandal-ridden prime minister has again demonstrated his powers of survival.

Whether the 74-year-old billionaire can last long with a majority of just three votes in the chamber of deputies remains in doubt, with early elections still a likely outcome. For the moment, however, Mr Berlusconi can rightly claim there is no alternative – either in the opposition or from within his own party.

In two days of heated parliamentary debate this week that climaxed in a brawl, opposition leaders portrayed the prime minister as a corrupt, hard-partying, self-interested businessman who had brought shame to Italy on the international stage while passing laws to evade pending court cases against him. US diplomatic cables exposed by WikiLeaks were brandished as evidence.