Italy's Alfano says broke with Berlusconi to avoid early vote

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said on Saturday he had decided to break with Silvio Berlusconi's center-right People of Freedom party because he had the feeling that hardliners in the party were pushing for early elections. Speaking to reporters, he said the decision had been a "painful and bitter" choice but he said it was the only way to ensure stability for the coalition government led by Prime Minister Enrico Letta. He said that with Italian families suffering in the recession and record levels of youth unemployment, it would be irresponsible to put the government at risk. "We cannot say we'll overthrow the government and we'll have solved all our problems," he said. (Reporting by Catherine Hornby and James Mackenzie)