A row over an influencer and her
controversial role as the culture minister's advisor continued
on Tuesday.
The woman at the centre of the storm, Maria Rosaria Boccia,
disputed the government's version of events according to which
her appointment as advisor to Culture Minister Gennaro
Sangiuliano for major events including a G7 culture summit was
reconsidered.
"Are we sure there wasn't an appointment?", Boccia wrote on
Instagram.
She contested Sangiuliano's version of events according to which
the culture ministry did not pay her any money as an advisor.
"Never spent a euro of the ministry? I never paid for anything,
I was always told the ministry paid back advisors' expenses" and
"all trips were always organized by the minister's cabinet
chief", Boccia told Turin daily La Stampa.
Boccia also disputed claims that she had never taken part in
operational meetings on the G7 culture meeting in Pompeii,
scheduled to be held on September 19-21.
"So we never held operational meetings? Inspections? We never
exchanged information?", said Boccia.
On Monday, Italy's opposition parties called for the cabinet to
clarify reports that Boccia, who allegedly did not have security
clearance, was involved in email exchanges containing reserved
information about the organization of this month's G7 Culture
meeting.
"Is the Culture G7 still safe?" said Irene Manzi, the head of
the Democratic Party (PD) delegation on the Lower House's
culture committee, calling on the foreign and interior
ministries to look into this.
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