Gennaro Sangiuliano resigned as
culture minister on Friday after being embroiled in a scandal
over an 'advisor' he had an affair with.
He said his resignation was "irrevocable" in a letter to Premier
Giorgia Meloni.
Sangiuliano had been under heavy pressure to quit from the
opposition after reports that influencer and businesswoman
Maria Rosaria Boccia may have had access to email exchanges
regarding the upcoming G7 Culture meeting. Sangiuliano, 62,
admitted having a relationship with Boccia in an long interview
with State broadcaster Rai on Wednesday, but denied that she had
had access to classified information or that public money was
spent on her.
He said Boccia had been set to be made an official advisor for
major events but he "revoked her appointment" because of the
relationship between them.
On that occasion he also said he had offered his resignation to
Meloni over the case but she had declined.
Boccia, 41, has disputed the minister's version of events.
In the letter, Sangiuliano thanked Meloni for having defended
him and for having refused his resignation the first time.
He said he was quitting because his honour was on the line and
he wanted to be able to show his "absolute transparency and
correctness without involving the government".
He would take legal action, starting with a complaint to
criminal prosecutors.
Earlier on Friday Audit Court sources said that the
Sangiuliano-Boccia furore "has not gone unnoticed", adding that
the State auditor was "making evaluations on the case".
Sangiuliano's lawyer Silverio Sica said Friday that there was
"no evidence that the minister has been blackmailed", adding the
case was an "extremely private" one.
The parliamentary committee that oversees Rai, meanwhile, will
meet on Tuesday after opposition parties complained about the
amount of airtimeTG1 news devoted to the Sangiuliano interview.
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