Meloni replaces Santanchè ad interim following the minister’s resignation.
Italian premier Giorgia Meloni on Thursday took over the tourism brief following the forced resignation of tourism minister Daniela Santanchè on Wednesday.
President Sergio Mattarella signed the decree accepting Santanchè’s resignation and authorising the provisional allocation of the tourism portfolio to Meloni, on the latter’s suggestion, news agency ANSA reports.
In a statement, Meloni thanked Santanchè, “who in recent years has worked with great dedication and ensured her contribution to the recovery and relaunch of tourism in Italy.”
Meloni added that the government “will continue to work to support and enhance a strategic asset of the national economy, which ensures Italy’s prosperity, wellbeing and international prestige.”
Santanchè, a senior member of Meloni’s right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party, resigned following pressure from the premier, after more than three years in the role of tourism minister.
The move came the day after the resignations of justice undersecretary Andrea Delmastro and justice ministry chief of staff Giusi Bartolozzi in the wake of the defeat of a government-backed judicial referendum.
Santanchè, 64, had been embroiled in significant legal challenges – causing a headache for Meloni – and had faced a motion of no confidence next Monday.
In submitting her resignation, Santanchè said she “obeyed” Meloni’s wishes but emphasised that her “criminal record is spotless” and added that she felt a sense of “bitterness” for how her ministerial career ended.
Santanchè is not the first government minister to resign since Meloni came to power in October 2022.
In September 2024 Alessandro Giuli became Italy’s new culture minister, replacing Gennaro Sangiuliano who resigned after becoming embroiled in a scandal over a consultant role for his former mistress.
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