Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy survived a parliamentary vote of confidence on Tuesday, but his discredited government no longer commands a working majority. That is not a situation Italy can put up with for very long. New leaders, new elections and a more honest approach to governing are urgently needed, said The New York Times in an editorial published Thursday. Excerpts: Investors are nervous about Italy. It is not Greece or Ireland; its deficits are manageable and much of its debt domestically held. But even before the financial crisis, Italy's growth rates lagged behind those of its European peers, sunk by pervasive corruption and burdensome bureaucracy at every level of government. It needs a credible government that can ask for tough sacrifices at home, patience from creditors abroad and support from other European governments. Mr. Berlusconi's main claim to power was that he alone seemed capable of holding together the disparate center-right factions that, when united, form Italy's usual political majority. He is now unable to do even that. The rapid evaporation of his political support was not the result of any ideological shift in Italian politics. The center-right parties still command large majorities in Parliament and in the country. Italy's fractured center-left still looks unable to unite or to govern. Mr. Berlusconi's failure is personal. Imperious and ever willing to skirt legal niceties, he has alienated even close political allies in recent months with a succession of outrageous scandals, blatant conflicts of interest and special laws crafted to shield him from prosecution. Whether or not, as the WikiLeaks cables reported, Mr. Berlusconi exhausted himself from all-night partying, his performance in office has exhausted Italy, demeaning public discourse and weakening the rule of law. __
