Silvio Berlusconi could lose his seat in Italy's senate after a committee recommended he be expelled following his conviction for tax fraud in August.
The proposal was made by a majority of the members in a cross-party committee which is dominated by the former prime minister's political opponents.
The recommendation to expel the centre-right leader will have to be ratified by a vote of the full senate, which is expected within the next three weeks.
The committee "has decided by a majority to propose to the Senate assembly to debate invalidating the election of senator Berlusconi," said the group's head, senator Dario Stefano.
Mr Berlusconi, who has dominated Italian politics for the past two decades, did not attend the hearing but criticised the procedure as a manoeuvre by his political enemies to remove him.
In a statement ahead of the meeting, he said: "There is no possibility of any defence and there is no reason to appear before a body which has already announced what decision it is going to take through the press."
Asked about leaving parliament, he quipped: "I wish! It would mean I could rest a bit".
After a revolt, Mr Berlusconi backed prime minister Enrico Letta The cross-party committee of 23 senators that met on Friday is dominated by lawmakers from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and opposition parties.
They include the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, who said they would vote to strip Mr Berlusconi of his seat in the upper house.
The committee vote caps a disastrous week for the 77-year-old billionaire, who was forced into a humiliating climbdown on Wednesday by a party revolt which made him back centre-left prime minister Enrico Letta in parliament.
After withdrawing his ministers from the coalition government at the weekend and calling for new elections, Mr Berlusconi had to reverse his decision to bring down the government.
And, instead, he backed Mr Letta in a confidence vote after dissenters in his own party threatened to tear the centre right apart.
The revolt left Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) divided into two blocs, with party secretary Angelino Alfano heading a group of moderates while a hardcore of loyalists remain with Mr Berlusconi, although a formal split has not yet been confirmed.
Even if Mr Berlusconi is expelled from the senate he could still lead the centre right, or the part of it that remains loyal to him, from outside parliament.
However, his position would be weaker and he would no longer have the protection from arrest which parliamentarians enjoy, that could be important as he faces many other legal cases.
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