Silvio Berlusconi’s final appeal against a prison sentence for tax fraud will be heard in court on July 30, defence lawyers said yesterday, calling the timetable too hasty.

The former Italian prime minister was sentenced last year to four years’ jail with a five-year ban on holding public office, for complicity in tax fraud at his Mediaset television empire.

If the verdict against the 76-year-old media tycoon is upheld, he will have no more right of appeal and, although he may avoid jail due to his age, a ban on public office, depriving him of his seat in Parliament, could destabilise the government.

Berlusconi’s lawyer, Franco Coppi, was critical of the speed with which the final hearing has come before the Court of Cassation, something previously expected by year-end.

“I have never seen a hearing programmed as quickly as this. I am astonished,” he told Reuters. “This is a real squeeze on the rights of the defence.”

The result could have a major impact on the government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta, whose fragile coalition depends on Berlusconi’s centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party.

Berlusconi is not a minister but plays a decisive behind-the-scenes role in ensuring the stability of the coalition with Letta’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD), his traditional rivals.

Berlusconi has pledged to continue supporting the coalition but some hardline allies in his party have threatened protests if the verdict goes against him.

The tax fraud trial is only one of a series of legal battles against Berlusconi, who was sentenced last month to seven years’ jail for paying for sex with a minor in the “bunga bunga” case involving a teenage nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug, alias “Ruby the Heart-stealer”.