One of the "cats" Berlusconi referred to, Urso, said the foursome resigned from office for the good of the country.

"We wish to close this phase of Italy's political history and start a new one to push forward with reforms the country needs now more than ever at a time of financial and monetary turbulence," Urso told RAI.

The endgame to the growing political crisis has yet to come into focus. Italian political commentators say a no-confidence vote is likely, but probably not until after the government's 2011 budget is passed -- probably in mid-December.

Estimates are that even without the support of Fini's allies, Berlusconi would maintain a razor-thin majority in the Senate but would fail to reach a majority in the lower house, thanks to the expected defection of around three dozen lawmakers loyal to Fini.

If that happens, President Girogio Napolitano could ask Berlusconi or Fini or a centrist figure like Pierfrancesco Casini, another former Berlusconi ally, to attempt to form a new government.

Napolitano could also appoint a non-partisan caretaker government to run the country while pushing through electoral reforms, or he could call for elections some time in the first half of 2011.

If the elections took place today, polling indicates that even with a best-case scenario for Berlusconi, his fortunes would be reversed: he and his right-wing and center-right allies could win control of the lower house even without Fini's support, but they would almost surely lose control of the Senate.

To address that end, Berlusconi supporters on Sunday floated the possibility of calling for elections next year, but only in the lower house -- allowing him to preserve his slim Senate majority while reversing his fortunes in the lower house.

The last time elections were held for just one house of parliament in Italy was in 1951, and the president's office has denied calls for such a move since the idea was briefly considered in 1953.

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