Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rejected calls for his resignation yesterday, telling deputies on the eve of a key confidence vote that political instability would throw Italy into financial turmoil.

“There is no alternative to this government,” the 75-year-old premier said in a speech that was loudly applauded by his centre-right allies but boycotted by lawmakers from the centre-left in a rare sign of defiance.

“We want to continue working for the good of families and businesses, even though a campaign of unprecedented violence has been launched against us by an opposition that is united only by its anti-Berlusconism,” he said.

“I am here and with me I have a politically cohesive majority, apart from some incidents in Parliament,” he added, referring to the coalition’s defeat on Tuesday in an important technical vote.

It was that embarrassing loss for Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party (PDL) and Northern League coalition partner which forced the Premier to address Parliament and call for a confid-ence vote on his government today.

“Our task and duty is to defend Italy from the economic crisis,” he said.

“Early elections would not solve the problems we have. A crisis now would mean victory for the party of decline, catastrophe and speculation that has been active for months in Europe and Italy,” he added.

But opposition lawmakers immediately attacked the premier’s speech. Pier Luigi Bersani, head of the main centre-left Democratic Party (PD) said it was “pitiful”.