Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday his centre-right party had split from Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s ruling coalition but said he did not have the numbers to bring the government down.

His comments came after Friday’s defection of a group led by Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, former secretary of his People of Freedom party, which defied Berlusconi and formed a separate group that has pledged to remain in the government.

Speaking at a congress to rebrand People of Freedom (PDL) as Forza Italia, the name of his original political movement, Berlusconi said his impending expulsion from parliament, with the support of Letta’s centre-left Democratic Party, meant the coalition couldn’t continue.

“It’s very difficult to think you can remain allies in Parliament and above all seated at the same table in cabinet with someone who wants to kill your leader politically,” Berlusconi told a party meeting.

Alfano’s group, expected to include a couple of dozen lawmakers, should ensure enough support in parliament for Letta, who survived a confidence vote last month with the help of the PDL rebels.

“At this moment, after the decision taken by 23 of our senators on Oct. 2, we were not capable and we are not capable of bringing down the government,” Berlusconi said.

The 77-year-old billionaire’s political future has been in the balance since he was convicted of tax fraud in August, opening the way for his expected expulsion from parliament.

The Senate is due to vote on November 27 to confirm the step and the Democratic Party has said it will vote for expulsion.

Letta’s Democratic Party formed an awkward coalition with the PDL following an inconclusive national election in February that left neither able to form a government on its own.

Berlusconi said Alfano’s decision to form a new bloc had “caused him a lot of pain”, prompting members of his audience to yell “traitors”.