Italy's culture minister fires two senior staff members

Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has signed dismissal decrees for two senior members of his ministry staff, marking a significant rupture within the leadership of the Ministero della Cultura. The officials being removed are Emanuele Merlino, a close associate of right-wing government figure Fazzolari who held a senior role at the ministry, and Elena Proietti, who served as the minister's private secretary.

According to La Repubblica, the break with Merlino is understood to be linked to the ministry's decision to deny funding to a documentary about Giulio Regeni, the Italian doctoral student who was abducted, tortured, and killed in Egypt in 2016. The case remains a deeply sensitive political issue in Italy, and the funding refusal reportedly sparked a serious internal dispute.

The twin dismissals expose growing tensions within the ministry over resource allocation, political priorities, and lines of loyalty. No official statement has yet been issued by the ministry explaining the grounds for either removal.