Milan– MILAN (AP) – Italy Legally embattled tourism minister resigns on Wednesday in protest against premier Georgia Meloni’s The referendum on judicial reforms failed.
Daniela Santanche’s departure is a sign that Italy’s three-and-a-half-year-old right-wing government has been weakened by Monday’s decision. defeat at the ballot box One major solution.
Meloni had called for Santanche’s resignation after two Justice Ministry officials stepped down in the wake of voters’ overwhelming rejection of judicial reforms in a vote that was widely seen as a de facto confidence test on Meloni’s leadership. In a statement Tuesday, Maloney said he hoped Santanche would make a similar decision “in the same spirit of institutional sensitivity.”
Santanche, who was seen as a leading member of Meloni brother of italian The party has suffered many losses politically for a long time test and investigationWhich includes alleged mis-accounting and alleged fraud. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Despite her legal troubles, Santanche survived a vote of no confidence in 2023 and has long had Meloni’s support.
Santanche announced her resignation in a statement to Meloni, in which she said she would “comply” with Meloni’s wishes and acknowledged the impromptu conversation on Tuesday after calls for the Prime Minister’s resignation. She said she did not want to be a “scapegoat” for the referendum defeat, underlining that the measure passed in her northern region of Lombardy and district.
Santanche wrote, “I will not conceal from you a certain amount of bitterness at how my ministerial journey ended, but in my life I have been accustomed to pay my debts – and often those of others as well.”
The judicial reforms were introduced by Meloni’s coalition as an important step towards streamlining Italy’s judicial system, which has been criticized as slow, bureaucratic, and vulnerable to political influence.
But critics argued that the proposed measures risked concentrating too much power in the executive branch. Opposition parties, civil society groups and legal associations united in warning that the reform could weaken institutional checks and balances.
Defeat in referendum after a campaign Very closely linked to the leadership of the Prime Minister Questions have been raised about the stability and unity of Meloni’s ruling coalition.
