Meloni has to rebuild

Affair with influencer: minister resigns

The Italian Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano

(Bild: AFP)

Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano resigned on Friday. The minister from the ranks of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing populist ruling party "Fratelli d ́Italia" drew the consequences of an extensive scandal surrounding an affair with an influencer that has been making headlines in Italy for days. 

The 42-year-old influencer Maria Rosaria Boccia claimed that the minister had appointed her as an advisor to the Ministry of Culture for the summit of G7 culture ministers organized by Italy in Pompeii from 19 to 21 September. In this role, she claimed, she was given access to confidential documents.

Vendetta of the influencer
The scandal erupted when the Ministry of Culture in Rome denied Boccia's nomination. The sidelined influencer immediately began her vendetta: she claimed to have accompanied the minister on several trips paid for by the Ministry of Culture. This was denied by Sangiuliano.

On television on Wednesday, however, he admitted to a relationship with Boccia that had since come to an end. The minister tearfully apologized to his wife.

Lawsuit for defamation threatened
According to Boccia, there are people who are blackmailing Sangiuliano because of favors they have received from him. "I overheard conversations and read messages from people who, in my opinion, blackmailed the minister," Boccia claimed on social networks. Because of these statements, she is now facing a lawsuit for defamation. "The minister is planning legal action against those who describe him as susceptible to blackmail," said Boccia's lawyer Silverio Sica on Friday.

Not the first blunder
The dispute over the influencer is another serious blow to Sangiuliano's image. In April, he embarrassed himself with a statement about the navigator and America discoverer Christopher Columbus. At a cultural event in Taormina, Sicily, the minister claimed that "Columbus wanted to circumnavigate the globe on the basis of Galileo Galilei's theories in order to reach India". However, the polymath was only born in Pisa in 1564, while Columbus began his first voyage to America in August 1492.

The Minister of Culture had already drawn criticism in April when he made a faux pas at the presentation of a new archaeology trail in the center of Rome. He claimed that Times Square was in London - and not in New York. In a statement, he later put the mistake down to the emotions of the moment. At the same time, the politician expressed his intention to be more careful with his statements in future.

Meloni must reshuffle her cabinet
Sangiuliano's resignation could lead to a government reshuffle in the Meloni cabinet, which has been in office for almost two years. European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto will move to Brussels as EU Commissioner, so his portfolio will have to be filled. Meloni could also replace Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche. The minister from Meloni's party is under investigation in connection with the fraudulent bankruptcy of a publishing group that Santanche led before her time as minister.