Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte survived the first of two votes of confidence in his premiership on Monday and will be seeking support from the Senate on Tuesday, after the departure of Italia Viva from the coalition government had left Italy heading towards a political crisis.

Conte emerged with a narrow show of support from Italy's Chamber of Deputies, 321 voted for the government, only six more than the minimum required for a majority.

During a tense afternoon in the chamber, Conte defended his government's record on the pandemic and tried to convince opposition lawmakers to prop up his failing coalition.

In a plea to opposition deputies, he asked for their help. "Help us restart with the greatest of speed, help us repair the wound that this crisis has evoked and reconfirm our pact of trust with our citizens," he said.

What sparked the political crisis?

Infighting between the coalition partners around how Italy should structure spending the European Union's recovery fund had sparked a political crisis that could bring down the Italian government.

Two prime ministers, one current and one former, are at the center of the current political crisis unfolding in the country. The former premier is Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva, a centrist party that was the minority partner in the coalition government led by Conte.

The relationship between the two men has been fraught and completely deteriorated during the Christmas period. Renzi has disagreed with how to spend more than $250 billion of grants and loans from the EU's recovery fund.

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Renzi had insisted Italy should access loans from the EU's European Stability Mechanism to bolster the health system during the pandemic.

However, that demand was unlikely to have been granted. The Five Star Movement, the biggest party in the coalition, campaigned against the mechanism during their rise to government.

After months of threats, Italia Viva finally followed through on January 13, with Renzi announcing the resignation of two ministers from the government only hours after the Recovery Plan was approved by the rest of the cabinet.

Although small, Italia Viva gave the government a crucial majority in Italy's two parliamentary chambers - the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Their departure casts uncertainty over whether the current government can survive.

Conte wants to 'turn the page' 

On Monday, Conte told lawmakers that there wasn't a way in which he could work with Renzi again after trust and confidence had been broken. He asked if this was "the right time to open a political crisis."

"Let's be frank, we can't undo what has happened. We can't regain the trust and confidence that are essential conditions for working together. Now we have to turn the page," he said.

If Conte had lost this first vote of confidence in the lower house of Parliament, he would have been forced to resign.

On Tuesday afternoon he will have another test to pass in Italy's Senate. 

For an absolute majority he will need the backing of 161 senators. Italian newspapers are forecasting he may be four to five senators short of achieving that. Results are expected at 6 p.m. local time (5 p.m. GMT).

Without an absolute majority Conte can still stay in power, but it will make governing in the upper house unstable. The government would need to negotiate individually with senators on a vote by vote basis to pass legislation.

If Conte were to lose the confidence vote then he would have to resign, exacerbating the crisis and potentially leading to an election during the pandemic if another government cannot be formed.

Video editor: David Bamford