Italy’s tradition minister has resigned after a row over the appointment of his former mistress as a prime adviser induced weeks of controversy for the the nation’s right-wing authorities.
Gennaro Sangiuliano, 62, discovered himself on the centre of a media storm when Maria Rosaria Boccia – his ex-lover – posted on LinkedIn that she had been appointed as his adviser for “main occasions”.
He initially denied the declare, however in a tearful interview with state TV on Wednesday, Mr Sangiuliano admitted to the affair with Ms Boccia and to hiring her as an unpaid marketing consultant.
On Friday, he lastly handed in his resignation to Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, however denied that he had damaged any ministerial guidelines.
Mr Sangiuliano additionally apologised to his spouse in Wednesday’s interview and claimed that he had damaged off his affair with Ms Boccia in the course of the summer season. He stated he first met her in Naples in Could, earlier than their friendship transitioned into what he referred to as a “sentimental relationship”.
All through the affair, Ms Boccia recorded her interactions with Mr Sangiuliano utilizing her telephone and a pair of RayBan Tales – sun shades designed by Meta outfitted with a digicam and microphone. Most of the images have since been posted to Instagram, with Ms Boccia insisting that there was “nothing unlawful” about her secret recordings.
Within the images posted to her account, Ms Boccia documented quite a few journeys with Mr Sangiuliano on his official visits, prompting questions as as to if state cash was spent on her journey or lodging.
The minister denied any suggestion that public funds have been spent on Ms Boccia, telling state TV on Wednesday that “not a single euro” was spent on her travels. He produced paperwork which he stated backed up his assertion that he had paid for her bills.
Critics have additionally raised issues that Ms Boccia had entry to categorized info, after images confirmed her accompanying the minister to Pompeii – the location of subsequent month’s assembly of G7 tradition ministers. Different pictures confirmed that she had entry to ministry workplaces and paperwork.
Because the couple parted methods, the 41-year-old has unleashed a stream of accusations in opposition to Mr Sangiuliano, profitable her the nickname “the machine gunner” within the Italian press.
Ms Meloni thanked the outgoing tradition minister for his “extraordinary work”, writing on X that his efforts had “allowed the Italian authorities to attain necessary leads to the relaunch and enhancement of Italy’s nice cultural heritage, even past its nationwide borders”.
However the debacle is the newest embarrassment to hit Ms Meloni’s authorities, which is led by her far-right Brothers of Italy social gathering.
Various her senior ministers have been investigated for a wide range of scandals, together with Daniela Santanchè, the tourism minister, who confronted accusations of false accounting and fraud.
Francesco Lollobrigida, the agriculture minister, prompted fury after ordering a late-night high-speed prepare to let him off early. And Vittorio Sgarbi – a junior minister – was compelled to resign after going through allegations of illegally buying a useful Renaissance portray.
Ms Meloni appeared to precise exasperation together with her cupboard on Wednesday, telling ministers to make use of extra warning of their public actions.
“We’re making historical past, and all of us want to pay attention to it,” the prime minister stated throughout a gathering. “This doesn’t permit for breaks and pauses, and far much less for errors and false steps.”
Regardless of the scandals, her authorities has remained comparatively standard in opinion polls, with Italy’s opposition remaining fractured amongst a number of events.