Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been expelled from the Italian Parliament over his tax fraud conviction
Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been expelled from the Italian Parliament over his tax fraud conviction
Berlusconi said the vote would not prevent him continuing to leading his Forza Italia party. Following months of wrangling, the vote opens an uncertain new phase in Italian politics, with the 77-year-old media magnate preparing to use all his extensive resources to attack Prime Minister Enrico Letta's Coalition.
He told supporters outside his home in Rome: "We are here on a bitter day, a day of mourning for democracy."
He has already pulled his party out of Letta's coalition after seven months in government, accusing leftwing opponents of mounting a "coup d'etat".
Stripped of his parliamentary immunity from arrest, he is more vulnerable in other cases, where he is accused of offences including political bribery and paying for sex with a minor.
However he no longer has enough support in parliament to bring down the government, which easily won a confidence vote on the 2014 budget on Tuesday.
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