Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte has won a 156 to 140 crucial vote to stay in power days after former prime minister Matteo Renzi pulled his party out of the coalition.
Opposition parties say they plan to ask president Sergio Mattarella to intervene to force him to resign.
The main parties in his coalition are the anti-establishment five star (M5s) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).
The prime minister told the senate it was vital to maintain political cohesion faced with the “historic challenge” of the pandemic.
Political observers say even if Conte had lost the vote, a snap election was not a certainty as president Mattarella still has the option of inviting him to assemble a new coalition.
Conte, a law professor, has led a centrist coalition since 2018.