Opposition senators protest as they hold placards reading "Yes to the safety, not to the Government" before a confidence vote at the Senate in Rome, Italy, November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s government won a confidence motion in the upper house Senate on Wednesday on a contested security decree, which tightens immigration regulations and bolsters anti-terrorism and anti-mafia rules.

The bill was championed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is also head of the far-right League, but was opposed by a handful of members of his coalition ally, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.

The government comfortably won the vote by 163 to 59. Had it lost the motion, it would have been forced to resign.