Silvio Berlusconi set to face vote of no confidence

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi faces a vote of no confidence in parliament today, paving the way for a showdown after months of feuding with his former ally Gianfranco Fini.

The prime minister was due to address the lower house this morning, outlining the priorities for the second half of his term, which is due to run until 2013.

He has previously said he would put forward a five-point programme that includes justice reform, measures to give regions more fiscal autonomy, and steps to help the poorer south.

The speech will be followed by a debate and a vote which will show whether the government can still command a majority after the split with Mr Fini and a group of more than 40 deputies and senators in July.

Political sources said the vote will be held tomorrow night.

If he loses, Mr Berlusconi will be forced to resign, although Mr Fini's camp, which risks losing ground if new elections were held, has declared it will not vote to bring the government down.

"We're ready to listen to the premier," said Fabio Granata, one of Mr Fini's closest allies. "If the confidence motion is on the five-point programme, we'll vote for it. If it's about things that aren't in the programme, we won't."

The future of the government has been in the balance since Mr Berlusconi effectively expelled Mr Fini from the ruling People of Freedom party they conceived together in 2008 as a new force to unite the Italian centre-right.

The acrimony between the two has been fuelled on both sides by accusations of treachery, corruption, lies and smears.

Mr Fini has accused billionaire media entrepreneur Mr Berlusconi of running the Italian government like one of his private companies and he has been a caustic critic of a series of scandals implicating associates of the prime minister.

Mr Berlusconi in turn accuses Mr Fini, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, of betrayal and says he is only motivated by egotism and personal ambition.