Rome, 25 March (LaPresse) – Daniela Santanché has resigned from her post as Minister for Tourism. She did so by writing a letter to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is returning to Rome at this very moment and who, in a statement released yesterday by Palazzo Chigi, had called for her to step down, following in the footsteps of Andrea Delmastro and Giusi Bartolozzi. “Dear Giorgia, I am tendering my resignation, as you officially requested, from the role of minister that you had entrusted to me and which I believe I have carried out to the best of my ability and without any issues. I thank you for the recognition and for the trust you have shown in me during these years at the helm of the Ministry of Tourism. I wanted (and I hope you will understand) it to be publicly clear that it was you who asked me to leave this role because, as I have always said, I would only have resigned in response to an explicit and public request from you. I wanted it to be clear, for the sake of my integrity, that I am stepping down, not merely in response to a request that the leader of my party deems useful and appropriate. It was and remains important to me to emphasise that, to this day, my criminal record is spotless and that, regarding the redundancy fund affair, there has not even been a single indictment. Hier, peut-être un peu brusquement (tu comprendras mon état d’esprit), je t’ai fait part de mon refus de démissionner immédiatement, car je tenais à ce que cette décision soit dissociée des commentaires sur le référendum : je ne voudrais pas servir de bouc émissaire pour une défaite dont je ne suis certainement pas responsable, compte tenu également des résultats en Lombardie et même dans ma propre commune. Je voulais également que ma démission soit dissociée de l’affaire contingente et très différente qui a concerné M. Del Mastro, qui paie lui aussi un lourd tribut. Cela étant clarifié, je n’ai aucune difficulté à dire « j’obéis » et à faire ce que tu me demandes. Je ne te cache pas une certaine amertume face à l’issue de mon parcours ministériel, mais dans ma vie, j’ai l’habitude de payer mes propres factures et souvent aussi celles des autres. Je tiens davantage à notre amitié et à l’avenir de notre mouvement. »