Silvio Berlusconi (Creative Commons)

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will resign after Parliament approves the 2012 budget, President Giorgio Napolitano said on Tuesday.

The decision comes shortly after a budget vote on Tuesday, one in which Berlusconi's government failed to garner a majority.

The vote still passed, but only due to the fact that 321 lawmakers abstained from voting. 

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Pier Luigi Bersani, pleaded with Berlusconi to resign after the vote, which put Italy in jeopardy of losing access to financial markets. 

Berlusconi will step down after parliament passes reforms required by euro zone leaders, expected to come this month, according to Reuters. 

According to the Wall Street Journal:

"By agreeing to eventually step down, Mr. Berlusconi is likely to become the highest-profile political victim of the euro-zone crisis that has been ravaging the Continent for the past two years. World leaders have been urging the premier to take key steps to reboot Italy's economy, but the government has repeatedly failed to deliver."