Silvio Berlusconi says he will remain at the heart of Italian politics even if senators vote to throw him out of parliament.
The former prime minister and convicted fraudster was speaking before a preliminary vote by a Senate panel."I will always be with you, at your side, expelled from parliament or not," he said in an emotional TV address.
There had been fears he might use his speech to fulfil his threats to topple the coalition government.
Political tensions had soared, with nobody sure what Berlusconi's reaction to the vote would be.
Election threat According to a 2012 anti-corruption law, Berlusconi should be ejected from the upper house after the supreme court last month upheld his fraud conviction.
But the decision needs to be confirmed by senators.
The vote by the panel would not be final - there is expected to be a vote of the full Senate next month. But it would give an indication of whether members of Prime Minister Enrico Letta's Democratic Party (PD) are prepared to vote against Berlusconi despite the possible consequences for the government.
Berlusconi's PdL party had repeatedly said it would pull out of the government if PD members voted against him.
That would lead to snap elections.
Italy's president and business leaders have warned against new polls while Italy is still mired in recession, saying they could reignite fears about Italy's stability and financial position.
Analysts say voters might turn against Berlusconi in such circumstances.
The tycoon used his address to announce the relaunch of his party under its former name Forza Italia (Go Italy), calling it the "last chance before catastrophe".
Berlusconi was sentenced to a year in jail, but because of his age is expected to serve house arrest or community service.
It was his first conviction to be confirmed on appeal in two decades of fighting legal cases.
Berlusconi says he has been targeted in a campaign by left-wing judges, and repeated his allegations in his address, saying magistrates were perverting democracy, and calling for sweeping judicial reform.
He is currently also appealing against convictions for paying for sex with an underage prostitute and for being involved in the publication of an illegally obtained wiretap.
SOURCE: BBC
