ROME (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti resigned from the centrist party he founded to run in this year's elections after disagreeing with party members over whether to support next year's budget law, according to a statement on Thursday.
In a statement posted on the website of his Civic Choice party, part of Prime Minister Enrico Letta's ruling coalition, the 70-year-old former European Commissioner said he had resigned as party president and would quit the bloc in the Senate, where he is a lifetime member.