ROME— The five cabinet ministers from former Italian premier Silvio Berulsconi’s People of Freedom (PDL) party have said they will quit the government, potentially causing its collapse, reported the Ansa news agency citing Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano.

The announcement by Alfano, a close Berlusconi ally, was seen as the last stage before the collapse of Italy’s government, said Guglielmo Epifani, the head of the center-left Democratic Party (PD) of Prime Minister Enrico Letta.

The PDL and the PD form a coalition government along with centrists linked to former prime minister Mario Monti. The two parties have increasingly been at odds in recent weeks, mostly due to a guilty verdict for Berlusconi in a tax fraud case that would bar him from future public office.

Alfano said that the conditions no longer existed for members of his party to stay in the government. Berlusconi’s supporters have demanded that the legislature find some way to nullify the ruling or sentence against Berlusconi.

A Senate committee is scheduled to vote Oct. 4 on the question of stripping the scandal-tainted politician of his seat. Berlusconi supporters have threatened a “mass departure” should it allow Berlusconi’s removal.

Letta indicated Friday that he would soon call a confidence vote to see if he had a stable majority that would allow him to govern. That vote could come Tuesday or Wednesday.

But Saturday’s actions make it increasingly likely that the current government will collapse. That would force President Giorgio Napolitano to tap Letta or some other politician with the job of forming another government.

Napolitano has, in the recent past, resisted calls to dissolve parliament and call for new elections. He has also criticized the PDL for threatening the proper functioning of the legislature, calling it absurd that Berlusconi and his followers treat a legal ruling as a political affront.

Berlusconi’s guilty verdict for tax fraud was upheld in August by the country’s highest court. The verdict relates to fraudulent offshore accounting by his family’s media firm, Mediaset. Aside from being barred from public office, Berlusconi is expected to perform a year of community service or be placed under house arrest.

Letta has challenged the PDL to outline their stance regarding Berlusconi and their plans to pull down the government during any no-confidence vote.

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