Silvio Berlusconi allies warn they will topple Enrico Letta if former PM is stripped of his seat

Allies of Silvio Berlusconi stepped up pressure on the shaky coalition government of Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta yesterday, threatening to bring it down if the Senate votes to expel the former premier following his conviction for tax fraud.

The fate of Letta's government has been in the balance since last month when Berlusconi, the leader of Italy's centre-right, was convicted for being at the centre of a giant tax fraud scheme at his Mediaset broadcasting empire.

Senators from Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL) met yesterday to discuss tactics and said the government could not continue if the Senate decided to strip Berlusconi of his seat in the upper house.

Asked if Berlusconi's expulsion would mean the government's collapse, PDL Senator Altero Matteoli replied: "Of course."

For weeks, the billionaire media tycoon's supporters have alternated conciliatory signals with threats to pull out of the coalition with the centre-left patched together in April after deadlocked elections which left no party able to govern alone.

Italian newspapers yesterday reported that Berlusconi had become more pessimistic about his chances of avoiding expulsion and was ready to scupper the government.

"It was always difficult to imagine cooperation between parties that have different positions on so many issues," Maurizio Gasparri, a Berlusconi loyalist and the deputy speaker in the Senate told SkyTG24 television.