Berlusconi vows to stay in politics even if expelled from parliament

Silvio Berlusconi has vowed to remain in politics even if senators vote to remove him from parliament.

He has been convicted of fraud and under a new law loses his right to sit as an elected representative, if this is approved by the Senate.

The former Italian Prime Minister and owner of football club AC Milan, posted a video on his website saying, “I will always be with you, at your side, expelled from parliament or not. You can be a politician without being in parliament. It is not a parliamentary seat that makes a leader, but popular consensus, your consensus. That support I have had in the past and will have again.”

A full Senate vote is expected next month.

Berlusconi’s PDL party has vowed to pull out of the ruling coalition if the Senate votes to expel him.

This would result in a snap election and plunge Italy into political turmoil as the country battles a stubborn recession.