Rome, Dec 13 (IANS): Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has accused his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi of having "left very much to be done" and thus the next government will have to work hard to continue the reforms, Xinhua reported.

The Berlusconi-led government passed some reforms but "left very much to be done," Monti said, adding therefore, the winner of upcoming national elections in February would have to follow up with more reforms.

Monti also called for "prudence" in judging the measures carried out by his emergency government of technocrats, saying any "oversimplification" should be avoided.

On Saturday, Monti announced his early resignation after Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PdL) party withdrew its support from his government. Berlusconi has also announced he would run for a fourth term as premier.

Berlusconi, who was forced to resign one year ago with Italy's debt crisis threatening to spiral out of control, has been increasingly critical of the record of Monti, whose cabinet has introduced tough austerity measures mainly made of tax hikes and welfare cuts.