Italian minister resigns after appointing ex-lover as adviser

 

Italy’s culture minister has resigned after controversy over the appointment of his former lover as a top adviser sparked weeks of controversy in the country’s right-wing government.

Gennaro Sangiuliano, 62, found himself at the center of a media storm when Maria Rosaria Boccia, his former lover, posted on LinkedIn that she had been appointed his advisor for “major events.”

He initially denied the accusation, but in a touching interview on state TV on Wednesday, Mr Sangiuliano admitted having an affair with Ms Boccia and having hired her as an unpaid consultant.

On Friday he finally handed in his resignation to Georgian Prime Minister Meloni, but denied having violated any ministerial rules.

In the interview on Wednesday, Mr. Sangiuliano also apologized to his wife and said he had ended his relationship with Ms. Boccia over the summer.

He said he first met her in Naples in May, before their friendship turned into what he called a “romantic relationship.”

Throughout the incident, Ms. Boccia recorded her interactions with Mr. Sangiuliano using her phone and a pair of Ray-Ban Stories sunglasses, designed by Meta and equipped with a camera and microphone.

Many of the photos were later posted on Instagram, with Ms Boccia insisting there was “nothing illegal” about her secret recordings.

In photos posted on her account, Ms. Boccia documented numerous trips with Mr. Sangiuliano during his official visits, raising questions about whether state money was actually spent on her travel or accommodation.

The minister denied any suggestion that public funds were spent on Ms Boccia, telling state TV on Wednesday that “not a single euro was spent” on her travels.

He produced documents that he said supported his claim that he had paid the woman’s expenses.

Critics have also raised concerns that Ms Boccia had access to classified information after photos leaked of her accompanying the minister to Pompeii, the venue for next month’s meeting of G7 culture ministers.

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Other images showed that he had access to ministry offices and documents.

Since the couple split, the 41-year-old has unleashed a series of accusations against Mr Sangiuliano, earning her the nickname “machine gunner” in the Italian press.

Meloni thanked the outgoing Minister of Cultural Heritage for his “extraordinary work,” writing in X that his commitment has “allowed the Italian government to achieve important results in relaunching and enhancing Italy’s great cultural heritage, even beyond national borders.”

But the fiasco is the latest embarrassment to hit the Meloni government, led by the far-right party Fratelli d’Italia.

Several of his senior ministers have been investigated over a series of scandals, including Daniela Santanchè, the tourism minister, who has been accused of false accounting and fraud.

Francesco Lollobrigida, the agriculture minister, sparked anger after ordering a late-night high-speed train to let him off early. And Vittorio Sgarbi, the second-ranking minister, was forced to resign after facing charges of illegally acquiring a valuable Renaissance painting.

On Wednesday, Meloni appeared to express exasperation with her government, calling on ministers to use greater caution in their public activities.

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“We are making history and we must all be aware of that,” the prime minister said during a meeting.

“This does not allow for pauses and breaks, much less errors and missteps.”

Despite the scandals, his government has remained relatively popular in opinion polls, while the Italian opposition remains divided among several parties. [BBC]

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