Berlusconi party determined not to back Letta: lawmaker

ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi called on his People of Freedom (PDL) party not to back Prime Minister Enrico Letta in a confidence vote in the Senate on Wednesday, PDL lawmaker Luca D'Alessandro said. PDL party sources said earlier that Berlusconi had at one stage considered backing Letta to hide the size of a split in his party as dozens of center-right lawmakers prepared to defy him and vote for the government. But he finally decided to maintain his opposition. "After so many battles, no one would understand a U-turn," Berlusconi told lawmakers, according to D'Alessandro. A group of PDL dissidents have pledged to back the government, causing a party split, and they appear to have enough votes to ensure Letta's survival as leader. (Reporting by Roberto Landucci; writing by Steve Scherer)