Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s centre-right prime minister, on Tuesday reached an agreement with a key ally on judicial reforms that opposition politicians feared were designed primarily to terminate two trials pending against the billionaire media magnate.

Mr Berlusconi met Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the lower house of parliament, to discuss the reforms. Some newspapers, including one owned by the Berlusconi family, had portrayed the encounter as a make-or-break moment with the prime minister set to threaten to drive Mr Fini out of their People of Liberty party and call new elections unless he agreed to support legislation that would end Mr Berlusconi’s legal problems.