Mr Bossi also said the Northern League's relations with the Catholic parties were under strain.
Even Mr Bossi may conclude that keeping such a man in office is unwise.
One of Mr Bossi's most senior lieutenants, Roberto Maroni, the interior minister, was there.
The separatist Northern League's Umberto Bossi gave a most bizarrely joyful explanation for the reformers' setback.
Led by the eccentric and raucous Umberto Bossi, the xenophobic Northern League did outstandingly well.
Mr Bossi's withdrawal from the first Berlusconi government in 1994 led to its fall after only seven months.
Yet even as he ignores his followers, the prime minister holds weekly meetings with his ally, Mr Bossi.
ECONOMIST: Silvio Berlusconi under fire: The sultan and the vizier | The
Still, Mr Bossi has not ruled out an electoral alliance, and there are reasons to think it might work.
The loyalty of Umberto Bossi's movement, which combines regionalism with populism and Islamophobia, is vital to the government's survival.
Or he might be deserted by his coalition allies in the Northern League (but Mr Bossi has vowed to remain loyal).
Mr Bossi himself was later forced to resign as head of his party as he was engulfed in a financial scandal.
The League's leader, Umberto Bossi, was already seething at Mr Berlusconi's failure to consult him over joining the air offensive in Libya.
ECONOMIST: The prime minister��s party struggles in local elections
Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League, recently proposed a tax strike.
ECONOMIST: A surprising boost in revenues fuels a debate about tax cuts
Yet Mr Bossi's followers are not alone in feeling lukewarm about unification.
Both coalition ally Umberto Bossi of the Northern League and opposition leader Pierluigi Bersani had called on the prime minister to step down.
Meanwhile Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League, seemed to turn against the whole idea of constitutional reform: the bicamerale, he said, had to go.
Its leader, Umberto Bossi, has backed a boycott of French goods.
It suggested that Mr Bossi, the only enthusiast for an early ballot, could expect 11-12% support for the League, up from 8% at the 2008 election.
Mr Berlusconi's main ally, Umberto Bossi of the Northern League, whose votes keep the prime minister in power, was noticeably absent from the chamber during his speech.
Observers say he also balanced out more centre-right ministers in the cabinet -- among them Reforms Minister Umberto Bossi, who has been sceptical of greater European integration.
Yet for this very reason the result of toppling Mr Berlusconi, as Mr Bossi reminded the crowd at Pontida, would probably be to let in the left.
Opinion polls suggest that if Mr Berlusconi teamed up with Umberto Bossi, leader of the secessionist Northern League, they could sweep the north as they did in 1994.
Mr Bossi's Northern League, flush with confidence, is calling for early elections and threatens to call its followers out on to the piazzas if it doesn't get its way.
Last month the League's leadership was pitched into a scandal involving alleged misappropriation by senior officials, including the former leader, Umberto Bossi, and took a predictable drubbing in the mayoral ballots.
Even if the president did plump for an election, the polls suggest Mr Berlusconi would free himself of Mr Fini only to become a prisoner of the Northern League's leader, Umberto Bossi.
And what parts remain for those actors on the right, Silvio Berlusconi, the leader of the opposition, Gianfranco Fini, head of the post-fascists, and Umberto Bossi, leader of the separatist Northern League?
He remains unlikely to pull out of the coalition as long as there is a chance of the government passing legislation to give the regions greater control over taxes, one of Mr Bossi's key aims.
ECONOMIST: The prime minister��s party struggles in local elections
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