By Angelo Amante
ROME, March 24 (Reuters) – Two officials quit Italy’s justice ministry on Tuesday and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on a minister to resign, the day after the government suffered a resounding defeat in a referendum on a proposed reform of the country’s judiciary.
The abrupt shake‑up suggests Meloni is seeking to reassert control by drawing a line under the justice defeat, casting out scandal-plagued officials to contain the political damage and signal she can still act decisively after voters rejected the flagship reform.
Undersecretary Andrea Delmastro resigned after it emerged he had held a stake in a restaurant linked to the mafia, while the ministry’s chief of staff, Giusi Bartolozzi, stepped down after making controversial comments while on the campaign trail.
In a brief statement, Meloni accepted the resignations of both officials, and in a surprise move also called on her Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche “to make the same choice.”
In Italy prime ministers normally exert pressure on ministers to resign behind the scenes rather than with a public pronouncement like Meloni’s.
MINISTER FACES FALSE ACCOUNTING TRIAL
Known for her brash, outspoken style, Santanche was ordered to stand trial last year on false accounting charges at a publishing group she used to own. For months she has resisted opposition calls for her to quit, and had so far enjoyed the backing of Meloni.
Both Meloni and Justice Minister Carlo Nordio have rejected calls that they too should resign having failed to convince Italians of the need to revamp the country’s fiercely independent judiciary.
Delmastro, who like Santanche is a member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, came under scrutiny this month after daily Il Fatto Quotidiano reported he had taken a stake in a Rome restaurant alongside the 18-year-old daughter of a man convicted of ties to the Camorra, a mafia group based around Naples.
Delmastro said he had sold his stake once he learned that his business partner’s father, Mauro Caroccia, had been convicted on mob-related charges.
But his position worsened after a 2023 photograph was uncovered showing him alongside Caroccia, suggesting the two men knew each other well.
It also emerged that Delmastro had not declared his business stake to parliament, as required.
In his resignation statement on Tuesday, Delmastro said he had made a mistake but had done nothing unlawful.
“I have always fought crime and achieved concrete, important results. Although I did nothing wrong, I made an error of judgment, which I corrected as soon as I became aware of it. I take responsibility for that,” he said.
The scandal hung over the final days of campaigning for the referendum, giving the opposition an easy opportunity to criticise the government’s handling of the justice ministry.
Bartolozzi also drew criticism during the campaign when she urged voters to back the reform so Italy could “get rid of” a judiciary she described as a “firing squad”.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante; editing by Crispian Balmer and Gavin Jones)
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