Berlusconi conviction throws Italy into flux

Italy’s fragile coalition government, already struggling to contain deep divisions over tax and economic policy, woke up to a whole set of new problems yesterday after Silvio Berlusconi’s conviction for tax fraud was upheld by the supreme court.

Just three months after centre-left prime minister Enrico Letta took office at the head of an uneasy alliance with Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party (PDL), Italy, the eurozone’s third-largest economy, is again mired in uncertainty.

Letta repeated that Italy must have a stable government, saying the last thing it needs is to be worn down by partisan battles.