Italy's Berlusconi fights for his political life

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi fought for his political life Monday in a speech to lawmakers a day before a vote which could see him dumped as head of government.

He is scheduled to face a confidence vote in Parliament Tuesday, the latest in a series of votes on his leadership since a dispute with a former ally over the summer.

"He who votes against us is betraying the mandate received from the electorate," Berlusconi said in his half-hour speech.

"In these particularly hard times for our country, we all have to find a way to be united and do what is best for the country," he said, adding that "a crisis" was the last thing Italy needed now.

He said he needed a mandate to complete judicial and institutional reforms and deal with the country's economic problems.

And he called on supporters of his rival Gianfranco Fini not to support the left by voting against him, saying they must not "subtract" votes from the right "in order to add them to the opposition."

Both Berlusconi and Fini's parties are on the center-right. The prime minister threw Fini out of his party over the summer, and Fini took about 40 lawmakers with him to form a new party.

Berlusconi Monday accused Fini of betraying him.

And he reached out to the Christian Democratic Union, which is allied with Fini, for support.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, who has the authority to dissolve parliament, has said he opposes new elections because it would create instability at a time of economic crisis.

Last month, Fini accused Berlusconi of a lack of attention to the economic crisis and structural reforms that Italy needs.

Berlusconi faces a difficult economic picture as he looks ahead to the rest of his term, which expires in 2013 if he survives confidence votes.

Italian unemployment is running at 8.5 percent, the highest level since 2003, according to the Italian statistical office, and public debt is 120 percent of the country's gross domestic product, the Bank of Italy says.