Silvio Berlusconi appeal over confidence vote ‘folly’

Mr Fini says Mr Berlusconi’s personal scandals, gaffes and failed policy programme make his position untenable.

He says he has enough votes to unseat Mr Berlusconi, but the numbers are so close no credible observer of these dramatic events is predicting which way it will go, our correspondent says.

Italian media are filled with speculation and rumour about the outcome of votes of confidence in both houses of parliament, he adds.

An investigation has been launched into claims that inducements have been offered to some members of parliament to secure their vote for Mr Berlusconi.

Mr Berlusconi has said that early elections could cause political instability which would lead to a Greek- or Irish-style economic crisis.

Below are a selection of comments from BBC News website users in Italy.

The first thing Italy needs to be sure of is stability. No country can afford to face the current financial crisis and its potential outcomes without political stability. In addition Italy has huge problems, such as the garbage crisis in Naples, which need a stable government to stay and to continue to face it. Italy must maintain the current government, no matter what political parties think about Berlusconi. Francesco Perrotti, Naples

I can’t believe it. Here we are with, at long last, the chance to kick this man out, and people are still dithering and calculating and playing their little political games in never-never land. I am aghast at Berlusconi’s latest comment that a vote of no confidence could trigger an economic crisis. It is his government that has sold Italy down the river and has done nothing for Italians. Josephine Swift, Legnago

There is a nagging doubt in many people’s minds that Berlusconi is going to scrape through to get this vote of confidence, but it will be by a slim majority that will make his government almost redundant. In the background Italy is almost on its knees with rubbish piling up in Naples (again), Pompeii crumbling, student unrest, unemployment rising. Italians want a serious change not just with the government but with the whole political landscape to lead them into the future. Gavin Burns, Rome

I hope he wins the vote of confidence simply because the whole crisis should never have happened. Fini, as speaker, should never have engaged in frontline politics, let alone formed a breakaway party, especially when he and his lieutenants were voted in precisely because they were part of a coalition with Berlusconi. The idea of dissent democratically expressed within a party seems to have eluded them, and ill-disguised ambition on Fini’s part has led to a crisis that his own voters would probably be reluctant to applaud. This is a step backwards towards the Prima Repubblica – a swirling sea of minority parties, with governments being formed on the basis of personal deals rather than accountable political manifestos. Simon Tanner, Messina

I really hope Mr Berlusconi wins in the senate and in the chamber of deputies too. His government has ruled the country through the international economic crisis in an efficient way and lots of important reforms have been made. Let him work until the end of legislation and just judge results to the end of it. Vincenzo Arancio Vagliasindi, Milan

I hope the prime minister gets the votes of confidence. His term is due to end in two years. If the current government collapses, the country will face total chaos. Furthermore, imminent elections might place Mr Berlusconi in power for the next five years. In the next two years there will be enough time to plan the post-Berlusconi era. Federico Felizzi, Pescara

A substantial majority in the country feels the time has come for the end of Berlusconi’s reign. His tenure has been one where he has first and foremost sought to protect his own interests, and the country’s interests have been a distant second. This is not politics, it’s big business and finally enough people have woken up to the reality of what this man represents. Although a right-winger myself I could never support this man, he has betrayed his country. Jeremy Beach, Noicattaro