Italy's Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè resigns after Meloni's request

Daniela Santanchè, Italy's Tourism Minister and a prominent member of the Fratelli d'Italia party, resigned on Wednesday following pressure from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Santanchè submitted her resignation by letter to Meloni after 15:05, when she left the ministry headquarters. The formal announcement came shortly after 18:00. The resignation came one day after Meloni publicly called for her to step down.

In her resignation letter, Santanchè wrote: "Dear Giorgia, I submit to you, as you have officially requested, my resignation from the role of minister that you wanted to entrust to me and which I believe I have carried out to the best of my abilities and without any contraindication. I thank you for the recognition and for the confidence you have shown me in these years leading the tourism ministry."

Santanchè emphasized that she wanted it to be publicly clear that Meloni had requested her departure. "I wanted it to be clear that you were asking me to leave this role because, as I have always said, I would have resigned only in the face of your explicit and public request," she wrote. "I wanted it to be clear, for my honor, that I am taking a step back, not owed only to the request that the head of my party deems useful and appropriate."

She also stressed that her criminal record remained clean. "I wanted and want to emphasize that today my criminal certificate is immaculate," Santanchè stated in the letter.

Santanchè arrived at the ministry on Wednesday morning for what appeared to be a normal working day before departing at 15:05. She left the building and entered her car without responding to journalists' questions.

The resignation followed Meloni's public indication on Tuesday that Santanchè should step down, with the minister waiting approximately 24 hours before formalizing her decision.