Berlusconi banned from public office for two years Former Italian Prime Minister and convicted fraudster, Silvio Berlusconi has been banned by a Milan court from holding public office for two years. The ban will not take immediate effect, however, as Berlusconi is a serving senator. A separate vote to expel him from the senate will have to take place in Italy's upper house next month. The senate is dominated by Berlusconi's political opponents and is expected to strip him of his seat. This may be the point where Berlusconi's run at the head of Italian politics really starts to unravel. He is also fighting accusations of paying for sex with a minor. If he loses his seat, he loses his parliamentary immunity from arrest.