Call for Berlusconi to quit tests coalition
The head of the party that leads Italy’s government has called on Silvio Berlusconi to resign from politics after he lost his appeal against a tax fraud conviction, worsening tensions in the fragile left-right coalition.
Centre-left prime minister Enrico Letta has reacted with restraint, desperate to avoid a government crisis, but the secretary general of his Democratic Party (PD) said all citizens are equal before the law and so Berlusconi should step down.
