Italian premier Meloni lost key referendum on constitutional reform in a major blow to her right-wing coalition.
The Italian government of prime minister Giorgia Meloni is facing its most serious political crisis since taking office, as two senior figures at the justice ministry resigned on Tuesday in the immediate aftermath of the government’s defeat in the constitutional referendum on judicial reform.
Justice under-secretary Andrea Delmastro has stepped down, as did Giusi Bartolozzi, chief of staff to justice minister Carlo Nordio.
Both resignations emerged from meetings held at the ministry’s Rome offices, where Nordio met the pair separately during the afternoon.
The twin departures represent a significant blow to Meloni’s administration and to Nordio personally – a minister who had staked his political reputation on the passage of the reform.
The referendum result represents the first major electoral defeat for Meloni, who leads the third longest-serving government in the history of the Italian Republic, with general elections due in 2027.
With turnout approaching 60 per cent, and 54 per cent for the “No” side, Italians decisively rejected the constitutional reform.
Delmastro affair
Delmastro’s position had been untenable for days before his resignation was confirmed.
The shake-up is linked to the affair concerning his participation in a company managing a restaurant whose shares were held in the name of the 18-year-old daughter of Mauro Caroccia, sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for fictitious registration of assets on behalf of the Senese organised crime clan, who has been in prison since February in Viterbo.
Delmastro sold his shares upon learning of the Caroccia family’s background, but had failed to notify either the chamber of deputies or the justice ministry of the change in ownership – a potential breach of conflict-of-interest rules.
Opposition parties were quick to exploit the scandal during the final days of the referendum campaign, with the opposition Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) announcing a parliamentary motion to revoke his appointment.
In his resignation statement, Delmastro said he had “always fought crime, even with concrete and important results”, and acknowledged having “committed a blunder” which he had remedied “as soon as I became aware of it”, adding that he was assuming responsibility “in the interest of the Nation”.
The timing could scarcely have been worse for the government. The case broke into the open just as the referendum campaign was in its final stretch, with photographs published showing Delmastro dining at the restaurant in question alongside Bartolozzi herself.
Bartolozzi and the “firing squad” controversy
Bartolozzi’s resignation carries its own distinct controversies. The chief of staff had provoked outrage after declaring during a Sicilian television broadcast that judges were “a firing squad” and that if the “No” vote won, she would “flee abroad”.
Her words were sufficiently inflammatory that Nordio himself was obliged to apologise on her behalf.
Bartolozzi is also under investigation for allegedly making false statements to prosecutors in connection with the case of Libyan general Osama Almasri, and faces the prospect of being committed for trial, as she enjoys no parliamentary immunity.
As recently as Tuesday morning, Nordio had appeared on television insisting that Bartolozzi would not be resigning – a position swiftly overtaken by events.
The impetus for both resignations came from internal pressure from the leadership of Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party and from Palazzo Chigi itself, following deliberations at the highest levels of the party and the government, according to newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Santanchè’s position precarious
The political turbulence may not end with Delmastro and Bartolozzi. Tourism minister Daniela Santanchè, who faces multiple legal proceedings including an accusation of false accounting in the Visibilia case, is said to be in an increasingly precarious position.
She is reported to be resisting pressure to resign, though her situation remains far from settled, according to Italian media reports.
No confidence vote ruled out
Despite the scale of the crisis, Meloni has moved swiftly to contain the political damage. The prime minister has no intention of seeking a parliamentary confidence vote following the referendum defeat, with government sources indicating there is no political crisis requiring such a step.
No meeting between Meloni and president Sergio Mattarella is currently scheduled.
The opposition, however, is unlikely to be satisfied. Former prime minister and M5S leader Giuseppe Conte accused Meloni of having missed the moment to act, arguing she should have forced Delmastro’s resignation far sooner, and called in the same breath for Santanchè’s departure.
Nordio, who acknowledged “political responsibility” for the referendum defeat and hinted he might return to private life when his term ends, for now remains in post.
Whether he can steady a ministry shaken by the loss of two of its most senior figures remains uncertain.
Photo credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com.
