«I spoke with the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to reiterate the truth of my statements contained in the letter sent this morning to the newspaper "La Stampa": never a single euro from the ministry, not even for a coffee, was used for travel and accommodation of Dr. Maria Rosaria Boccia who, with respect to the organization of the G7 Culture, never had access to confidential documents».
This was stated by the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, after the meeting with the Prime Minister that lasted an hour and a half.
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"With respect to an undeniable media storm that has hit me in recent days, and within which it is difficult to distinguish authentic fake news from real facts that must also be brought back into the right dimension, I believe it is appropriate to provide my version especially on the elements of public relevance". Thus the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano in a letter to La Stampa.
"I met Dr. Boccia in mid-May during the European election campaign and found that we shared the same views," he explains. "I later developed the intention to assign Dr. Boccia the role, free of charge, of advisor to the minister for major events. After the first investigation phase, having accepted some doubts from the Cabinet about the possibility, albeit merely potential, of conflicts of interest, I decided not to proceed with the appointment and I formally communicated this. This is not the first time that the Ministry of Culture, like other institutions, has not proceeded with appointments that had been examined. During this time, Dr. Boccia has never taken part in administrative proceedings. I believe it is important to underline that never a single euro from the ministry, not even for a coffee, has been used for Dr. Boccia's travel and accommodation."
With respect to the G7, "in an initial phase, it was actually thought to hold the international event in the enchanting Positano, but already in the first months of the year, as demonstrated by the ministry's correspondence, before I met Dr. Boccia, it was decided to move it to Naples for logistical-organizational reasons and to contain costs. Pompeii was involved, from the beginning, only for the organization of a cultural event. On June 3, I went to the Archaeological Park of Pompeii to visit the metal scaffolding that allows visitors to watch restorers and archaeologists at work. It was not an inspection concerning the G7. And in any case, the occasions on which it was present did not have an institutional character at all, nor even in the broad sense of an investigation of the G7. Security issues were never discussed."
Sangiuliano concludes by expressing "great regret for an event that, without any responsibility, has profoundly disturbed the lives of many people, as well as mine."
Then Maria Rosaria Boccia's reply on Instagram. "Never spent a euro from the Ministry? I never paid anything, I was always told that the ministry reimbursed the expenses of the councilors so much so that all the trips were always organized by the Chief of the Minister's Secretariat". And to the minister's claims that she never took part in operational meetings on the G7, she specifies: "So we never had operational meetings? Site inspections? We never exchanged information?". As for the claims that Sangiuliano himself decided not to follow up on his nomination as councilor, she attacks: "Are we sure that the nomination didn't happen? The voice asking to tear up the nomination sounded feminine to me... shall we listen to it again together?" And on the potential conflicts of interest found by the chief of staff, she says: "When did he find them? During the summer holidays? The chief of staff was present remotely at the meeting on August 15 because he was on vacation. Under the umbrella, did he check my potential conflicts of interest? And above all, what are they?"
"After eight days of silence, a patch worse than the hole", the conclusion, accompanied by a new photo that portrays her smiling together with the head of the Ministry of Culture. "The only lives that are disturbed - she adds, always referring to the words of the minister - are mine and that of my family" . And on Giorgia Meloni who yesterday on Retequattro spoke of her calling her "this person" she adds: "This person has a name, a surname and a title".
(Online Union)
