The referendum effect overwhelms the government and two heads roll, with a third that resists, triggering a very tough tug-of-war with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The day after the Prime Minister's appointment turned into a reckoning: all government members with embarrassing legal issues were dismissed. And so, at the end of a very hectic day , the resignations of Undersecretary of Justice Andrea Delmastro and Cabinet Secretary Giusi Bartolozzi arrived, at the prime minister's explicit request .

Then, in an unprecedented and almost unprecedented statement, he explicitly asked Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè to step down . She resisted, sparking a tense standoff: on trial in Milan for alleged false accounting at Visibilia and under investigation for alleged bankruptcy and fraud against the National Institute of Social Security (INPS), Santanchè has been on the hook for a year now. She had made her resignation conditional on a request from Meloni, which has now arrived, more explicitly than ever.

"I appreciate Delmastro and Bartolozzi's decision to step back and thank them for their dedicated work. I hope that, along the same lines of institutional sensitivity, a similar decision will be shared by Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè," the Prime Minister's statement reads.

Her friend Ignazio La Russa was reportedly involved in convincing her to step down. But Santanchè resisted: "I'm not resigning, on the contrary. I'm ready to appear at the next Council of Ministers," Santanchè sent word to the prime minister. Then the ministry issued a statement that shocked Giorgia Meloni: "Tomorrow (today, ed.) Minister Santanchè will be in the office as usual: all appointments are confirmed."

And this morning, Santanchè arrived at the ministry on Via di Villa Ada in a blue car at 10:05 a.m., half an hour later than announced and scheduled. The large group of journalists present asked her if she intended to resign, but she didn't respond.

The Delmastro and Bartolozzi cases

A veritable political earthquake. There was also a heated clash between the prime minister and Minister Nordio, who defended Bartolozzi to the very end, even publicly, before finally giving in.

For the cabinet chief, beyond the investigation into the repatriation of Libyan General Almasri, her handling of the referendum campaign is weighing heavily. In particular, her shocking statement on Sicilian television: "If the 'yes' vote wins, we'll get rid of the magistrates. They're a firing squad."

Delmastro is burdened by his business dealings with the daughter of Mauro Caroccia, convicted as a front for the Senese clan, with whom the FdI member opened a restaurant in Rome : "I have always fought crime, with concrete and significant results, and although I have done nothing wrong, I committed a careless act that I remedied as soon as I became aware of it."

The opposition

In Parliament, the opposition is unleashing its forces. They unanimously applaud the resignation, even if it's "late." They're also calling for Santanché's resignation. Giuseppe Conte, among others, is asking whether "the impact of this overwhelming popular vote will force Minister Santanchè to resign as well." But for Riccardo Magi of Più Europa, now "the question is: when will Minister Nordio resign?", emphasizing that "in a normal country, such a disruption in a key ministry like Justice would bring down the entire government."

For Santanchè, however, a motion of no confidence has been tabled . "We have tabled it and are requesting that it be scheduled for urgent action. We ask the Brothers of Italy and the majority to be consistent, following through on what Meloni herself, with monstrous delay, is demanding," says Luca Pirondini, leader of the Five Star Movement group in the Senate.

Italia Viva and the Democratic Party have also announced they will present a motion of no confidence: "Meloni has suddenly woken up and is now calling for the resignation of many Brothers of Italy members. But how can a prime minister who wants to speak to the world be credible if she can't even get Santanchè or La Russa to listen? When you lose a constitutional referendum like this, the blow is felt. And day after day the wound grows. It doesn't end here, believe me," Matteo Renzi wrote on social media .

The opposition is also asking Giorgia Meloni to appear in the chamber and report on a "political crisis that is now evident."

"We're asking Prime Minister Meloni to urgently brief her because it took 15 million votes to do the spring cleaning. But how is it possible that the Prime Minister, who has the powers, is morally persuading one of her ministers who hasn't yet resigned? What impediment does she have?" said AVS MP Marco Grimaldi .

PD group leader Chiara Braga also said, "Meloni can't ignore the situation in the Chamber. What happened in recent days, that referendum result, marks a severe defeat for her government. There's a clear political crisis, and she has a duty to come to the Chamber. We can't settle for that belated resignation."

Riccardo Ricciardi, leader of the M5S group in the Chamber of Deputies , points the finger at «Minister Santanché, for three years we have been saying that it is indecent that she is there, now you think you can get away with this resignation but "you are a system and the wonderful thing is that they said NO to you».

Matteo Richetti (Azione) emphasized: "I can't recall a time in the last 15 years when the opposition had to lend a hand to the prime minister to get rid of a minister. We presented a motion of no confidence. But why is this happening the day after the referendum?"

"Meloni made some heads roll yesterday, but it seems to us that the government has inexorably begun to crumble," said Riccardo Magi of Più Europa . "Come to the Chamber and explain to us what's happening in the government and what you intend to do."

For Roberto Giachetti of IV , "now we find ourselves with Meloni asking for her resignation in a surreal way. But where have the rules of politics and dignity gone?"

(Unioneonline/L)

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