El Diario Exterior [in Spanish]: “In Afghanistan there is an important level of unsecurity”, with these words Spanish Minsiter of Defense, Jos� Antonio Alonso, has admitted about the situation in the country where Spain has sent troops.

The Christian Democrats (small now, after having dominated most of the post-WWII era) were the party that switched sides after Prodi’s resignation gambit.

The abstention is thus consistent with Berlusconi’s stated position: He said he would not let the NATO commitments be defeated, but if there is no such risk, then he can abstain and thereby not support a government that peeled off one of his erstwhile allies. Cake and eat it, too, and all that.

In previous votes on Afghanistan, he has been propped up by the right-wing opposition led by Silvio Berlusconi, which supports the deployment.

But Mr Berlusconi has become more critical - notably of the way in which the government negotiated the release of an Italian journalist kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Taleban, a deal which saw five Taleban prisoners freed in exchange.

Come the vote, the opposition split, with senators from Mr Berlusconi’s party abstaining, but most of the Christian Democrat Party backing the government.