Sangiuliano was embroiled in a scandal over a would-be advisor he had an affair with. He claimed his first resignation letter was rejected by Meloni last Wednesday.
Conservative journalist Alessandro Giuli, the president of Rome’s MAXXI contemporary art museum, was sworn in on Friday as Sangiuliano’s successor.
“If anyone thinks that situations like the Sangiuliano one can weaken the government, they are mistaken,” Meloni told the European House-Ambrosetti Forum at Cernobbio on Lake Como on Saturday.
“The king is dead - long live the king.
“A minister has resigned; I wish the new minister well in his work.”
Meloni thanked Sangiuliano for “significantly increasing visitors and revenues for the many cultural attractions that Italy has” and for launching “major projects that had been at a standstill for decades”.
She also took aim at the woman at the centre of the scandal, influencer and businesswoman Maria Rosario Boccia.
Boccia posted on Instagram saying she had become an advisor to Sangiuliano, along with photos with him at official events.
These posts triggered concerns she had access to classified communications and that her activities were being paid for by public money - something Sangiuliano had ruled out.
“My idea of how a woman should earn herself a place in society is diametrically opposed to that of this person,” Meloni said.
The prosecutor of the Lazio Audit Court has opened a probe into the case.
ANSA
