Over the past weekend, a unique period in Italian history ended when Prime Minister Mario Monti, who oversaw the country's first-ever fully technocratic government, announced that he would soon resign. Monti made the surprise announcement on Saturday, saying he would leave his post following the approval of the 2013 budget, which the Italian parliament will vote on before Christmas. Monti said he decided to resign after the main party in the parliament, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, withdrew its support of the technocratic government. His departure may mark a return to political instability in Italy. Monti's was the first government in the history of Italy to be completely made up of technocrats with no previous political affiliation (previous caretaker Cabinets in the early 1990s were comprised of a mix of politicians and technocrats).