Published: 02:08 PM, 05 May 2026
Elly Schlein opposes Italy's current immigration policy
A rising star of the Italian left has won election to the leadership of the Democratic Party, the country's second-largest political group.
Thirty-seven-year-old Elly Schlein will serve as the main opposition leader to Giorgia Meloni, the country's far-right prime minister-the first time both of these roles have been held by women simultaneously.
Italy's constitution states that prime ministers can propose a government minister to the president, who in turn makes the appointment, but they do not have the power to unilaterally sack one.
Meloni and the justice minister, Carlo Nordio, have rejected calls from some opposition leaders to themselves resign over the referendum on judicial reforms, which marked the first major political setback for the prime minister, who since coming to power in October 2022 has led one of the most stable governments in the history of the Italian republic.
But since the results came in on Monday two justice ministry officials have fallen on their swords. Andrea Delmastro, the justice ministry undersecretary and a member of Brothers of Italy, resigned after it was revealed - days before the judiciary referendum - that he had held shares in a restaurant with links to the mafia.
Giusi Bartolozzi, the chief of staff to Nordio, also resigned on Tuesday. Bartolozzi, who faces the possibility of being sent to trial over Italy's release and repatriation last year of a Libyan general wanted for alleged war crimes, caused a furore during the referendum campaign by likening the judiciary to a "firing squad" that needed to be eliminated.
Santanchè, who is involved in several legal proceedings over allegations of fraud and false accounting relating to her business activities, had until Wednesday afternoon resisted pressure to do the same.
But, in a statement addressed to Meloni, Santanchè said she was quitting, adding she had been unwilling to resign immediately because she didn't want to be made a "scapegoat" for the referendum defeat.
"I have no problem saying: 'I obey' in doing what you ask," she said, adding that she would not hide "a bit of bitterness" over the outcome of her ministerial career.
>>Agency
