Italian PM Renzi to quit after budget passed

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi formally resigned Monday after a crushing referendum defeat that has sent shockwaves around Europe -- though his departure will be delayed by a final task, passing a budget.


Renzi handed his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella after Italians resoundingly rejected his constitutional reform proposals in Sunday's referendum, to the delight of the country's populist leaders, fresh after Brexit and Donald Trump's US victory.

The departure of the center-left premier -- who had staked his future on the outcome of the vote -- plunges Italy into political uncertainty and casts a shadow over the future of the eurozone's third-largest economy.

In an apparent bid to ease investor fears, the presidency said in a statement that Mattarella had "asked the prime minister to postpone his resignation" until the 2017 budget has been passed, a move expected by the end of the week, according to Italian media.

The government has already won a vote of confidence on the budget in the lower house of parliament.
 [i24news.tv/AFP]
5/12/16
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