Italian former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's supporters hold banner in support of him in Rome, Italy on Nov. 27, 2013. The Italian Senate on Wednesday voted in favor of stripping former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of his seat in parliament after the highest court made definitive a tax-fraud conviction against him in August. (Xinhua/Xu Nizhi)

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News Analysis: Berlusconi ouster shows high drama, but key obstacles remain in Italy politics

ROME, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Wednesday's vote to strip Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi of his Senate seat, robs him of a political platform he has had for almost 20 years. But it is just the start -- for both Berlusconi and parliament.

Berlusconi did almost everything he could to avoid Wednesday's vote, calling it a kind of "coup d'etat" and saying sanctions against him would humiliate the Italian state more than Berlusconi himself. Full story

Italian Senate decides to expel Berlusconi from parliament

ROME, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Italian Senate on Wednesday voted in favor of stripping former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of his seat in parliament after the highest court made definitive a tax-fraud conviction against him in August.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta's center-left Democratic Party (PD) along with leftwing Left, Ecology and Freedom (SEL) and the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement (M5S) backed the ejection. Full story