Berlusconi’s struggling center-right government, undermined by a weak economy and a succession of scandals, faces two confidence votes in parliament on Dec. 14 that could trigger elections more than two years ahead of the scheduled date in 2013.

The ruling People of Freedom party (PDL) has been weakened by an internal split and Berlusconi no longer enjoys a secure majority in the lower house. But he said he still expected to win a no confidence motion against the government.

“I think that we will have a majority, a good majority in the lower house and the Senate and that we will govern,” he told reporters at a news conference on measures to help young people.

If Berlusconi lost either vote, he would be forced to resign. But he indicated that it would not be sufficient to win a bare majority if his scope for maneuver was too constrained to be able to govern effectively. “If it is not possible to govern because the confidence of the majority is not obtained or there is no majority capable of obtaining approvals for reform, I will go to the head of state and, with the majority in both houses of parliament, we will ask to go to elections,” he said.

“I do not believe in the possibility of a government that is not capable of influencing the reality of the country, of changing the country and improving it.”

Berlusconi also repeated warnings that Italy, with a public debt burden of almost 120 percent of gross domestic product, needed political stability during the euro zone debt crisis.

“If we think ... that we need to renew one billion euros of public debt every day for a total of 250 billion euros over the next year, the conclusion is obvious: Italy needs anything but government instability,” he said.

Italy has weathered the financial crisis better than many of its European peers but analyst say a prolonged political crisis could attract unwelcome market attention given its huge debt and weak growth.

The fate of Berlusconi’s government has hung in the balance since Berlusconi split with long-time ally Gianfranco Fini, the lower house speaker, in the summer. Some 40 lawmakers followed Fini, depriving Berlusconi of a built-in majority..

A scandal over the prime minister’s dealings with a teenage nightclub dancer, a series of corruption probes and his failure to end the latest garbage crisis in Naples have weighed on his popularity, which is now at a record low of 35 percent. Fini says Berlusconi must resign so that a new center-right coalition can be formed, possibly without him at the helm.

Berlusconi has rejected this, saying the only alternative to his government is snap elections, which most political analysts say are likely next spring.

Alternatively, President Giorgio Napolitano could appoint an interim government to run business until new elections if he can find a strong enough majority in parliament to back it.