Berlusconi says backs Italy government despite legal woes

Italy's Silvio Berlusconi pledged on Saturday to keep supporting the government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta, despite hopes by opponents that he would trigger a political crisis after judges rejected his appeal against a tax fraud conviction this week.
"They thought I could pull out and put the survival of the government at risk," he told a rally in the northern city of Brescia. "But as always they were mistaken. We intend to continue to support this government."

Berlusconi is not a minister in Letta's coalition, which groups traditional rivals on the centre left and centre right, but plays a decisive behind-the-scenes role and could bring the government down by withdrawing support in parliament.