on holding public office only to take effect by the end of his current legislative term. The pending senate vote, combined with anger over Berlusconi's conviction (a poll indicated 42% of the public believe he has been unfairly persecuted by the magistrates) presented a serious political challenge for the fragile ruling coalition. On 3 August, Berlusconi suggested that unless a solution to his predicament could be found, Italy was at "risk of a civil war". The following day, thousands of supporters gathered in front of his house in protest of the ruling. On 30 August, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano announced he had not selected Berlusconi as one of the new four lifetime senators, which are granted the privileges of being a lawmaker for life with some protected legal immunity, meaning they can continue working in politics even after being convicted guilty for criminal offences that otherwise would lead to ban from serving one of the public offices. On 9 September, a Senate committee began its deliberations to decide if Berlusconi's public office ban shall start immediately or by the end of his current legislative term. Before the committee decision becomes effective, it also needed to be approved by a vote in the full Senate. The deliberations of the Senate committee lasted for several weeks before they reach a decision. According to the Severino law, which became enacted by the Monti government in December 2012, anyone sentenced to more than two years in prison is deemed ineligible to hold public office for a period of six years, or eight years if convicted for abuse of power, and should immediately be expelled from the parliament. Berlusconi argued that the Severino law can not be used to expel persons convicted for crimes committed before December 2012, and pleaded for the proceedings to be postponed until the European Court of Human Rights or the Constitutional Court of Italy had ruled, whether or not he was correct about his interpretation of the law. Berlusconi also stated that he in any case had decided to appeal the court ruling against him to the European Court of Human Rights, as he still claimed the ruling itself to be a political and unjust attempt by his opponents, to deprive him of his political power. The response by Prime Minister Enrico Letta's centre-left Democratic Party was to reject Berlusconi's plea, accusing him of only launching time-wasting maneuvers. Berlusconi's PDL