Italy president tells Renzi to delay resignation until budget approved

Italian President Sergio Mattarella told Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Monday to put his planned resignation on hold until parliament had approved the 2017 budget, which could be done as early as Friday.

Renzi announced he would resign following his defeat in Sunday's referendum when Italians resoundingly rejected his proposed reforms to the constitution.

After a meeting with Renzi, Mattarella's office said in a statement that the prime minister had told him he could no longer remain in power.

The president told him he should stay in place until the budget was passed to prevent emergency funding rules from kicking in on Jan. 1. Once the budget was passed, he could hand in his resignation, the statement added.

Reuters