Ms Meloni thanked the outgoing culture minister for his “extraordinary work”, writing on X that his efforts had “allowed the Italian government to achieve important results in the relaunch and enhancement of Italy’s great cultural heritage, even beyond its national borders”.
But the debacle is the latest embarrassment to hit Ms Meloni’s government, which is led by her far-right Brothers of Italy party.
A number of her senior ministers have been investigated for a variety of scandals, including Daniela Santanchè, the tourism minister, who faced accusations of false accounting and fraud.
Francesco Lollobrigida, the agriculture minister, prompted fury after ordering a late-night high-speed train to let him off early. And Vittorio Sgarbi – a junior minister – was forced to resign after facing allegations of illegally acquiring a valuable Renaissance painting.
Ms Meloni appeared to express exasperation with her cabinet on Wednesday, telling ministers to employ more caution in their public activities.
“We are making history, and we all need to be aware of it,” the prime minister said during a meeting. “This does not allow for breaks and pauses, and much less for errors and false steps.”
Despite the scandals, her government has remained relatively popular in opinion polls, with Italy’s opposition remaining fractured among multiple parties.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
