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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Italian Senate panel recommends Berlusconi expulsion | Italian Senate panel recommends Berlusconi expulsion |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A cross-party panel of the Italian Senate has recommended the expulsion from the chamber of Silvio Berlusconi over his conviction for tax fraud. | A cross-party panel of the Italian Senate has recommended the expulsion from the chamber of Silvio Berlusconi over his conviction for tax fraud. |
| The call to expel the ex-premier who dominated politics for nearly two decades in Italy is expected to go before the Senate within three weeks. | |
| Berlusconi threatened to topple the coalition government over the issue but backed down during a confidence vote. | Berlusconi threatened to topple the coalition government over the issue but backed down during a confidence vote. |
| He accused the Senate panel of bias and stayed away from its deliberations. | He accused the Senate panel of bias and stayed away from its deliberations. |
| The media tycoon was convicted of tax fraud in October 2012 over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films. The sentence was upheld in August. | The media tycoon was convicted of tax fraud in October 2012 over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films. The sentence was upheld in August. |
| The threat to Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fragile coalition alarmed political leaders and markets alike in the eurozone, where Italy has the third-biggest economy and is struggling to address a huge national debt. | The threat to Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fragile coalition alarmed political leaders and markets alike in the eurozone, where Italy has the third-biggest economy and is struggling to address a huge national debt. |
| Weakened figure | Weakened figure |
| Berlusconi dismissed the panel, which is dominated by his political opponents, as biased against him. | |
| "There is no possibility of any defence and there is no reason to appear before a body which has already announced what decision it is going to take through the press," he said in a statement issued through his lawyers. | "There is no possibility of any defence and there is no reason to appear before a body which has already announced what decision it is going to take through the press," he said in a statement issued through his lawyers. |
| Representatives of both Prime Minister Letta's centre-left Democratic Party and Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PdL) party sit on the 23-strong Senate committee on elections and parliamentary immunity. | Representatives of both Prime Minister Letta's centre-left Democratic Party and Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PdL) party sit on the 23-strong Senate committee on elections and parliamentary immunity. |
| However, PdL members make up just over a quarter of the total. | However, PdL members make up just over a quarter of the total. |
| Berlusconi emerged from Wednesday's confidence vote a weakened figure with his capacity to influence Italian politics diminished, the BBC's Alan Johnston reported. | Berlusconi emerged from Wednesday's confidence vote a weakened figure with his capacity to influence Italian politics diminished, the BBC's Alan Johnston reported. |
| Ousted from power in 2011, the 77-year-old billionaire nearly came back again earlier this year after an effective election campaign won him almost a third of the vote but legal troubles quickly beset him. | Ousted from power in 2011, the 77-year-old billionaire nearly came back again earlier this year after an effective election campaign won him almost a third of the vote but legal troubles quickly beset him. |
| He will have to serve a one-year sentence for his tax conviction, probably under house arrest or via community service because of his age. | He will have to serve a one-year sentence for his tax conviction, probably under house arrest or via community service because of his age. |
| In addition, he has been convicted of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and of a breach of confidentiality over a police wiretap. He is appealing against both convictions. | In addition, he has been convicted of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and of a breach of confidentiality over a police wiretap. He is appealing against both convictions. |