OTTAWA — Finance Minister John Manley said Friday he will delay planning the next federal budget until Jean Chretien retires, a strong signal that the prime minister will have trouble clinging to power until his planned retirement date.

Manley said the next budget must be designed under Paul Martin, who is expected to win the Liberal leadership in November and take over as prime minister in February -- the same month the budget traditionally comes down.

"We can't do the budget preparation before the transition," Manley said.

"It's something that must be done after."

A longtime Chretien loyalist, Manley offered the clearest sign yet that the prime minister's influence within his own government has dramatically shifted over to Martin.

"(A budget) is always a shared task for the prime minister and the finance minister. And for that reason it's impossible to do the budget before the transition," Manley said in French.

He also said it's the responsibility of the Martin team -- and not the current prime minister -- to review economic results when they're announced this fall and to use them for budget planning.

Martin is expected to easily win a Liberal leadership race in November.

But his arrival date in the Prime Minister's Office depends largely on Chretien's plans.

Chretien announced in August 2002 that he would retire in February  2004. He has since often repeated that he will stay until then, but recently he has dropped hints that he could change his mind.

Manley's comment Friday makes it clear that a February departure by Chretien would delay the tabling of a budget well past its traditional date.

The  budget-planning process takes months.

The final stages of preparation -- when political spending choices are made -- usually come after consultation between the prime minister and his cabinet.

Manley did point out Friday that a February budget release is not written in stone.

He said supplementary spending estimates could be introduced in the House of Commons as a stop-gap measure until a full-fledged budget is ready.