Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi seems to have some time before the next elections as Italian parliament voted for new government formed by Berlusconi.

The formation of another government or early elections were avoided after the government won 170 votes compared with 117 for the opposition in the upper house of parliament.

Two parties out of four from Berlusconi’s coalition demanded his resignation after losing 12 of 14 regional elections this month. They also said it is important to form new government mainly focused on helping businesses, the south and low-income families. ``We plan on cutting regional business taxes, but also going ahead with the reduction of the tax burden for less fortunate families,’’ Berlusconi said on Thursday.

Italian economy sees tough times under Berlusconi being ranked the least competitive among the euro zone nations, according to the World Economic Forum.

The latest poll conducted by SWG Srl and released on April 22 showed that the opposition leader Romano Prodi, once president of the European Commission, would beat Berlusconi with 61% of the votes.