Door finally closes on Silvio Berlusconi with expulsion from Italian Senate
Former PM is expelled from Senate and now faces even more humiliation
After months spent manufacturing procedural delays and conjuring political melodrama in the hope of saving himself, Silvio Berlusconi could no longer stave off the inevitable.
Yet even as the Italian Senate decided to strip him of his parliamentary seat on Wednesday - a dramatic and humiliating expulsion - other potential troubles awaited him.
In the hours before the vote, Italian senators read speeches for or against Berlusconi, 77, the powerful ex-prime minister. He responded with an outdoor rally in central Rome. His expulsion was confirmed through a series of votes and after a day of passionate arguments.
The reaction in the chamber after the final tally was striking - complete silence.
"I think we are at a crossroads today," said Senator Pier Ferdinando Casini, who has previously supported Berlusconi, in the run-up to the voting.
"However it goes, a 20-year period is concluded."