Is it the end of Berlusconi? Not quite

Marina Berlusconi is one of Europe's richest women; now her father reportedly has new plans for her. Photo / AP

Disgraced former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi is apparently planning a "dynastic succession" in which he would hand leadership of his conservative People of Freedom Party to his millionaire businesswoman daughter, Marina.

Berlusconi is reeling from a harsher-than-expected conviction handed down by a panel of three judges on Tuesday.

He was sentenced to seven years in jail and given a lifetime ban on holding public office after being found guilty of paying for sex with an underage escort.

The billionaire businessman reportedly gave his blessing to his daughter as his heir at a private dinner shortly after the sentence was imposed by the court in Milan.

Berlusconi, 76, apparently believes Marina, 47 and the oldest of his five children, would be a worthy adversary to Matteo Renzi, the mayor of Florence, who is tipped as a future leader of the centre-left.

He also fears that Italy's Supreme Court could soon confirm a four-year prison sentence he received last October for tax fraud relating to his Mediaset television network.

The dinner on Tuesday was reportedly attended by Berlusconi and three of his children, including Marina, as well as his 28-year-old girlfriend Francesca Pascale, and Niccolo Ghedini, his most trusted lawyer.

"Her manner and her determination convinced everyone at the dinner that she is the true heir of Silvio Berlusconi," Luigi Bisignani, a confidante of the ex-Prime Minister, told Italian radio.

Marina is married to a former dancer with La Scala in Milan, and has a high public profile in Italy - she is the president of Mondadori, a huge publishing firm owned by her father. Photographs of her topless have appeared in gossip magazines.

The prospect of her taking over the political mantle from her father has growing support within the People of Freedom Party.

"I hope Bisignani is right. I'd be very happy," said Daniela Santanche, an MP in the party and one of his most vociferous supporters.

Lara Comi, a Euro-MP from the party, said it would be "a fantastic prospect - I hope that it is true".