Berlusconi defeated, decides to back Italy government

Letta addressed his claims straight on in his speech to the Senate, saying Italy is a country based on the rule of law.

“In a democratic state, sentences are respected and applied, always with the right to the defense without treatment in favor or against individuals, whether they be citizens or senators,” he said.

The unusual defiance of Berlusconi by his stalwart allies could signal that the three-time former premier's influence is seriously eroding after two decades leading Italy's center-right and being the main point of reference in Italy's political scene.

And the 77-year-old billionaire media mogul has reacted by making seemingly erratic and counterproductive demands that some Italian commentators have likened to the desperate, fitful sparks of a candle going out.

But Berlusconi has endured numerous political setbacks in the past, only to re-emerge strong.

“Berlusconi has nine lives and we can't exclude a tenth,” leading daily Corriere della Sera wrote on its front page today. “He knows the art of seducing senators and still has enough wiggle room for a turnabout at the last minute.”