Ministry of Culture, Spano resigns as head of cabinet

Francesco Spano has resigned as head of cabinet of the Ministry of Culture. “With painful reflection I have determined to tender my resignation from the role of Head of Cabinet for Culture with which he wanted to honor me – writes Spano in a letter addressed to the minister Alessandro Giuli – The context that has been created, not without unpleasant personal attacks, no longer allows me to maintain the serenity of thought that is necessary to carry out this very important role” .

“In the exclusive interest of the Administration, therefore – writes Spano again in the letter addressed to the minister – I consider it my duty to take a step back. This does not, evidently, prevent me from expressing my profound gratitude to you for the esteem and support that showed me without hesitation.”

Giuli: “Spano subjected to a barbaric climate of monsterification”

“With great regret, after having rejected them several times, I receive and accept the resignation of the Chief of Staff, Francesco Spano – declared Minister Giuli – My firm solidarity goes to him for the barbaric climate of monsterification to which he is subjected in these hours. Last but not least, I reiterate to Francesco Spano my complete esteem and gratitude for the outstanding technical professionalism and human quality demonstrated in various contexts, including the Ministry of Culture”.

Besieged by reporters while he went to the Chamber from the Collegio Romano, headquarters of the ministry, for question time, Minister Giuli did not respond to those who asked him if he too will take a step back: “Do you want the news of the day? Appearances can be deceiving “. Then, in the rain, before crossing the door of Montecitorio, he responded with cryptic words, without wanting to add anything else. Not even when reaching the Chamber of Deputies did Giuli make any statements to reporters. After leaving the Chamber for question time, the minister went to Palazzo Chigi where he had a meeting of about 30 minutes with the undersecretary to the Prime Minister, Alfredo Mantovano. At the center of the conversation was the Budget Law and the Ministry of Culture.

Spano case in Fdi chat

“I didn’t want to attack Spano on a personal level, I limited myself to reporting the mood of our base…”. He tells Adnkronos Fabrizio Busnengo, who resigned as coordinator of the Brothers of Italy in Municipality IX in Rome after some fiery messages against Spanoposted in a party chat days ago and stigmatized by the Roman Fdi coordinator Marco Perissa. The news of the affair was given by Il Fatto Daily, which today published the contents of some of Busnengo’s messages on Spano (“he’s a pederast… he has ignoble positions on LGBTQ issues”).

When asked by telephone, Busnengo justifies himself as follows: “First of all, I am astonished that chats within the party are disseminated like this and sent to the press. Having said that, as I reiterated to Perissa himself and to all the others, far be it from me to attack Spano from a homophobic point of view, I simply reported the sentiment of the electoral base regarding Spano’s nomination. I therefore reject the accusations of homophobia“.

After the outburst in the chat, Busnengo left the position of coordinator of the ninth Municipality of Rome: a decision which, however, according to Busnengo, would have been evaluated for some time. “As regards my resignation, I had already decided impetuously for personal and work reasons to resign as Fdi coordinator of Municipality IX, which does not mean leaving the party”, specifies the exponent of Fratelli d’Italia, who adds: “I have embraced the Fdi project which brought Giorgia Meloni to the presidency of the Council and I absolutely remain in the party. If there were to be other decisions, these are up to the party leaders”. Meanwhile, discontent is growing within Fdi against Minister Giuli’s choices, especially in light of the previews of the episode of Report which will be broadcast on Sunday. Tensions that led to Spano’s step back as Mic chief of staff just 10 days after his appointment to replace Francesco Gilioli.

Ministry sources: “Spano in charge at MaXXi before Giuli’s arrival”

Meanwhile, sources from the Ministry of Culture specify that “in relation to what was reported on the social profiles of the ‘Report’ broadcast, it should be noted that, at the time of Alessandro Giuli’s installation at the top of MaXXi, Francesco Spano already held the position of Secretary general of the Foundation, as appointed by the previous president Giovanna Melandri. Furthermore, it should be noted that the Foundation itself is no longer chaired by Minister Giuli, as erroneously reported”.