Italian parliament poised to expel Berlusconi
O Italy’s ilvio erlus coni prepared for likely e pulsion from parliament this week via a momentous vote that will rattle but not bring down the government and leave the billionaire tycoon more at risk of arrest.
erlusconi has asked fellow senators to delay the vote because he claims to have new evidence warranting a udicial review of the criminal conviction for ta fraud that is the basis for his probable e ection.
erlusconi’s loyalists have attempted stalling tactics but the debate planned for G T is likely to go ahead as scheduled although it could be a long one.
Thousands of supporters are e pected to mass outside his lu ury ome residence from G T, while a smaller group of anti erlusconi activists will also gather outside the enate an hour later.
The day promises to be full of heated rhetoric at an economically crucial time for Italy, which is struggling to end its longest post war recession and ust as parliament debates ne t year’s budget.
rime inister nrico Letta has called for a non chaotic situation in Italy and said a division within erlusconi’s ranks will help stability.
group of dissidents led by erlus coni’s former protege, Deputy rime in ister ngelino lfano, broke away earlier this month to form their own grouping.
lfano and his supporters have said they will vote against erlusconi’s e pulsion but will stay in Letta’s left right coalition even if the e ection goes ahead.
The government will therefore not collapse even though erlusconi’s orza Italia party announced on Tuesday it was pulling out of the coalition after ust si months of uneasy cohabitation with leftist rivals.
ut the coalition will have a much nar rower ma ority in the enate of around seats and could be vulnerable to sniping from erlusconi even outside parliament.
erlusconi is still e tremely powerful, although that power is declining, said James alston, a professor at the meri can University in ome.
e still has enormous resources, he still has his media, he still has lots of very diehard supporters inside and outside parliament, he said.
erlusconi has said a vote to e pel him from parliament would be an indelible stain on Italian democracy.
oting to e pel would shame you in front of your children, your voters and all Italians, he said in an open letter to sena tors, in which he told them that the vote is not about me, but about democracy.
ou would e pel from parliament a political leader who has been prime minister several times and who has rep resented Italy on the international stage, erlusconi said.
ven some of erlusconi’s most hard line opponents have voiced doubts about the e pulsion vote and the idea of beating the year old through the courts and parliament instead of at the ballot bo .
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