“The first person I have to apologize to – he says with emotion – is my wife. Then I have to apologize to Giorgia Meloni for the embarrassment created and to my collaborators.” This is the line of the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, reiterated to the director of Tg1 Gian Marco Chiocci, on the case of the Boccia. He admits it in a broken voice, specifying that never a single euro of the ministry was spent due to the lack of a consultant.
Sangiuliano: “I apologize to my wife. Then to Meloni who trusted me because of the embarrassment” pic.twitter.com/NvrRRArGl2
– The Great Scourge (@grande_flagello) September 4, 2024
All the trips with Sangiuliano and her were paid for personally by the minister, from his personal account. And Sangiuliano admits that there was also something else between him and Boccia: “It is difficult for me to talk about this. It is an emotional and personal relationship.” And he reiterates: “I am not subject to blackmail for this reason, because in a public office you are subject to blackmail if you have used public money inappropriately and I have demonstrated that for this reason I am not subject to blackmail.” A line taken up by the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, repeated in the letter addressed to The press and repeated for an hour and a half face to face with Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi, in the story that has been going on for days. Sangiuliano chose the first channel to respond to the case of the businesswoman from Pompeii who claims to have been appointed consultant to the Ministry of Culture, while the minister only admits that he thought about giving her a free job, then changed his mind. And he specifies that yesterday he presented his resignation to Prime Minister Meloni but she rejected it. The full 15-minute interview was broadcast at the end of the evening news.
How the relationship between Sangiuliano and Boccia began
Sangiuliano says that Boccia was introduced to him in May in Naples and that a personal friendship was born, where he discovered some of her organizational skills. So he decided to offer her for free for major events. But then, he explains, this relationship led to something else: an emotional one. But the chiefs of staff advised him not to pursue this appointment and to interrupt a “potential conflict of interest situation”. Sangiuliano shows Chiocci an email sent to his collaborators, emphasizing that it was he who invited them not to continue the process.
Whatsapp Audio: “Maybe it was my wife”
Sangiuliano clarifies that he did not show favoritism towards Boccia: absolutely, “if favoring means having lunch with someone who pays out of his own pocket,” he comments. And he says: “She must have come to the ministry 4.5 times, no more.” Finally, she also clarifies the Whatsapp audio she released, where a female voice told her to tear up that appointment: “As for the voice, I remember having a discussion with my wife, where she told me to stop any relationship. Maybe the information was gleaned and the voice could be hers.”
Boccia and the G7
On the issue of security and the G7, he clarifies that Boccia did not participate in any sensitive meeting on the summit. “I did not participate in the G7 summits either, she was at the ministry and that time she was only talking with an advisor about marginal aspects, such as the dinner menu or the possibility of giving tourist gadgets to the guests,” the minister explained. Boccia, he assures, never had in his hands confidential documents on the G7. The documents posted by the woman, she explains, had also been leaked by Repubblica. In short, according to Sangiuliano, there was no security breach.
The nightmare of other cats. “My wife is the most important person in my life”
Certainly, “affective discussions” could emerge. He explains that when he discovered that Boccia was recording in the House “at one point yes, that was one of the reasons why I wanted to interrupt him. I have never been a conspiracy theorist, even if some details that have emerged in these hours obviously make me think…” Are you saying that there is a direction behind this? “I categorically exclude that for the moment”, replies the Minister of Culture who reiterates “I cannot be blackmailed”. Are you afraid of opening an investigation? “It seems strange to me that someone would open an investigation into personal relationships, I don't see any legal aspect to it.” So why do you answer? “But I can understand the emotional disappointment – explains the minister – also because I have reiterated several times, in the last phase, that I had no intention of leaving my wife who for me is the most important person in my life. Or the disappointment of not having been nominated.” He called Boccia, after the breakup of August 8, he admits: to tell her that she had to be precise.
Response from Maria Rosaria Boccia
First the popcorn, like at the movies, then the first doubts: Maria Rosaria Boccia waited in front of the television for the interview with the Minister of Culture, posting her anticipation on social media. Everything comes to those who wait, he writes: “I hope I don't have to deny it anymore, a repeated liar in Parliament would certainly not be welcome”. According to the businesswoman from Pompeii, Sangiuliano must clarify “why the appointment was pulled out” and why “in the two statements to the newspaper La Stampa reality was distorted”. A few minutes later, Boccia rejects the minister's version and insinuates: “Let's start lying. “On this ground I cannot be blackmailed”…”
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