6 December 2016, 18:58 GMT
ROME (Sputnik) — On Sunday, Italians rejected a constitutional reform plan proposed by the country’s prime minister. The referendum was largely viewed as a vote on Renzi’s leadership, and led him to announce his intention to resign on Monday night, immediately after the results were clear. However, Italian President Sergio Mattarella asked Renzi to postpone his resignation until after the adoption of a law defining the 2017 state budget.
Earlier in the day, the Senate approved the proposed budget with a vote of confidence.
The referendum proposed limiting Senate powers to speed up the lawmaking process.
