Italian PM to seek confidence vote in parliament: minister

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta plans to call a confidence vote in parliament after failing to secure backing for a vital package of fiscal measures at a cabinet meeting on Friday, his regional affairs minister said. Letta said in a statement after the meeting that he was not willing to go on without clear support from the parties in his coalition, as divisions with center-right partners drove the government close to collapse. "Ahead of the clarification it is inevitable that any government decision on fiscal or economic issues will be on hold," Letta said after the cabinet had failed to approve planned deficit reduction legislation. His Regional Affairs Minister Graziano Delrio told reporters after the meeting that Letta would hold a confidence vote in parliament. (Reporting By Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Catherine Hornby)