(ANSA) - Rome, September 24 - Premier Giuseppe Conte's spokesman is under fire after the release of an audio recording of a conversation with two journalists in which he talked about the possibility of purging the economy ministry of officials who have allegedly been hampering the government's plan to introduce a 'citizenship wage' basic income.
Opposition parties have called on the spokesman, journalist Rocco Casalino, to be sacked but Conte and the 5-Star Movement both defended him and criticised the release of the audio.
Casalino is a former participant in the Italian version of reality show Big Brother.
Former premier and ex-leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Matteo Renzi, said the case showed "we are faced with cudgels via the Web".
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party said "they had purges in Stalin's time".
The Italian journalists' guild's (ODG) Lombardy branch have opened a probe into the case. This could lead them to refer the case to the territorial discipline council.
Conte spokesman under fire over ministry purge comments
Opposition call on Rocco Casalino to be sacked