国际英语新闻：Italy's PM reassures supporters ahead of confidence vote

MILAN, Italy, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reassured his supporters here on Saturday that he will win the confidence vote on Dec. 14 although his government will not be as strong as before.

Talking at a rally inside a gazebo in support of his party Center-right People of Freedom (PDL) in the heart of Milan, Berlusconi said he will secure the majority, but "numbers will be lower than in the past and therefore it will be harder to rule the country and make laws approved by Parliament."

"I hope there will be many people with a sense of responsibility and loyalty," he said addressing followers of his former ally House Speaker Gianfranco Fini.

"I think those who have been elected under the symbol of PDL and Berlusconi for president should attentively consider whether it is worth to betray the mandate given by voters thus consign Italy to a crisis that would harm everyone,"the prime minister said.

Berlusconi also had a short walk in the streets of Italy's economic capital, where he was born, shaking hands, and greeting the huge crowd calling for him not to give up.

He stopped with his entourage in a historical delicatessen, where he had a cocktail and talked about the need to modernize Italy, hindered by bureaucracy, and where political confrontation is harsh.