Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti announced on Saturday that he would resign once the 2013 budget is approved, potentially bringing forward an election due early next year and fuelling speculation that he might run. The surprise announcement came two days after Silvio Berlusconi's party withdrew parliamentary support for the technocrat government and hours after Berlusconi said he would run to become premier for a fifth time on a platform that attacks Monti's stewardship of the economy, according to a report of Reuters. Elections must follow no more than 70 days after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolves parliament.
