Goria Resigns as Italian Premier for Third Time

Prime Minister Giovanni Goria resigned Friday as the leader of Italy’s 47th postwar government, saying there was no reason to delay the fall of the shaky coalition for talks to smooth the transition of power.

It was the third time the Christian Democrat has submitted his resignation since taking office in August, but President Francesco Cossiga rejected his earlier efforts to quit and persuaded him to stay on.

Goria handed in his latest resignation to Cossiga on Friday night. Cossiga asked him to stay on as a caretaker premier until a new government can be formed.

Goria, who at 44 was Italy’s youngest prime minister, resigned for the first time in November in a dispute with the tiny Liberal Party.

He quit again Feb. 10 after defectors in his own party caused him to lose a series of secret votes on the budget. However, Cossiga talked him into returning to office to help pass the national budget before the April 30 deadline.

The lower house of Parliament gave final approval Thursday night to a budget that includes a deficit of $98.8 billion. The spending plan was very different from the original proposed by the coalition, which forecast a deficit of $83.3 billion.

With the budget passed, Goria’s days were numbered as the head of the coalition of Christian Democrats, Socialists, Republicans, Social Democrats and Liberals.

Throughout Goria’s seven months in office, political infighting and defections in secret votes made it difficult for him to govern.