After days of controversy, posts on Instagram and video interviews, the step back has arrived: Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has resigned. It is now impossible for him to resist the pressure and embarrassment resulting from the political-institutional scandal unleashed by Maria Rosaria Boccia and her relationship with the now ex-Minister of Culture.
Sangiuliano's letter to Meloni
“Dear President, dear Giorgia, after long meditation, in painful days full of hatred towards me by a certain political media system, I have decided to irrevocably resign as Minister of Culture”. Thus begins the letter sent by Sangiuliano to the prime minister, in which he thanks her for defending him and having rejected an initial request for resignation.
In the letter, Sangiuliano lists what he believes to have been the successes of his two years in Via del Collegio Romano, saying he is "aware of having touched a sensitive nerve and of having attracted many enmities having chosen to review the system of contributions to cinema by seeking greater efficiency and less waste”.
“This work cannot be tarnished and above all stopped by gossip issues – adds Sangiuliano – Institutions are too high a value and should not be subject to the reasons of individuals. I need personal tranquility, to be next to my wife whom I love, but above all to have my hands free to take legal action against whoever caused me this damage, starting with an imminent complaint to the Public Prosecutor's Office, which I intend to present. My honorability is at stake here and I believe it is important to be able to act to demonstrate my absolute transparency and correctness, without involving the Government".
Even though he did not mention Maria Rosaria Boccia even once, the minister reiterated that "never a single euro from the Ministry has been spent on improper activities. I said it and I will prove it in every venue. Not only that. I will get to the bottom of it to verify whether different interests contributed to the affair and I will take action against those who published fake news in recent days”, he concludes.
What happened
The case broke out last August 26th, when Boccia posted a photo on Instagram with Sangiuliano thanking him for his appointment as Advisor to the Minister for Major Events”.
The post was followed by the denial of the assignment by the ministry. From that moment on, chaos: Boccia published photos, videos, recordings and documents which in turn denied the ministerial reconstructions, demonstrating the involvement of the entrepreneur in many official events, including a Visit to the excavations of Pompeii on the occasion of the G7 Culture.
Prime Minister Meloni initially defended Sangiuliano, only to then summon him to Palazzo Chigi to ask for explanations. During the meeting, the minister reassured the Prime Minister, telling her that no public money had ever been spent on Boccia. In an interview with Tg1, Sangiuliano then tearfully admitted that he had a relationship with the woman.
The story continued with a further interview given this time by Boccia herself to the newspaper The print, in which he had said that Sangiuliano is allegedly under blackmail (without specifying whose) and of having often travelled in the minister's escort cars.
The lawyer of the Minister of Culture, Silverio Sica, meanwhile states that “nthere is no evidence that he was blackmailed, we certainly exclude it” and “for the material we have examined we are in the midst of a very private affair. This affair politically responds to a logic of double standards that is all Italian, the proper morality being that of the adversary”. “We are verifying one by one the statements of Dr. Boccia to understand if there is a violation of the confidentiality of what was the human story that briefly united these two people”, added the lawyer explaining that regarding the timing of the complaint “we are waiting for the political affair to calm down and then we will have the complaint signed that we will process”.
Boccia-Sangiuliano case: the Court of Auditors investigates
Meantime the case ended up under the scrutiny of the Court of Auditors. The affair "did not go unnoticed" and the Court of Auditors “the relevant assessments are being made.” This is what the accounting magistrates questioned by theHandle on the case revolving around the role of Maria Rosaria Boccia and her relationship with the Minister of Culture.
Sangiuliano's reaction was not long in coming: "I am pleased to learn that the Court of Auditors is evaluating the possibility of opening a file on the matter that concerns me", so "I will have the opportunity to demonstrate that no public funds were spent nor was a single euro from the Ministry used for travel and transfers of Mrs. Maria Rosaria Boccia", he declared.
Alessandro Giuli new Minister of Culture
President Mattarella has accepted the resignation of Gennaro Sangiuliano: the new Minister of Culture will be Alessandro Giuli, president of the Maxxi in Rome, who will be sworn in at 19 pm at the Quirinale. Thus the ministry remains firmly in the hands of the Brothers of Italy.
