Justice Referendum 2026

After the referendum

Justice, Delmastro and Bartolozzi resign. Meloni: Santanchè makes the same choice

The undersecretary's farewell as new details emerge on the company he held with the daughter of Mauro Caroccia, linked to the Senese clan. Minister Nordio's chief of staff also leaves

by Rome Editorial Staff

24 March 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "expresses her appreciation for the choice of Justice Undersecretary Andrea Delmastro and Cabinet Chief Giusi Bartolozzi to resign from the posts they have held to date and thanks them for their dedicated work". And 'hopes that, along the same lines of institutional sensitivity, a similar choice will be shared by the Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè'.

The earthquake in the government after the referendum defeat continues. The undersecretary for Justice of Fratelli d'Italia, Andrea Delmastro, has resigned. The shake-up came in the aftermath of the government majority's defeat in the referendum on the reform of the judiciary, but in substance it is linked to developments in the affair concerning his participation in the company for the management of a restaurant in the name of the 18-year-old daughter of Mauro Caroccia, sentenced to four years' imprisonment for fictitious registration of assets on behalf of the Senese clan, who has been in prison since February in Viterbo.

Also resigning is the minister's chief of staff Carlo Nordio, Giusi Bartolozzi. The decision came after a meeting with the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, in the offices of Via Arenula, where the undersecretary for Justice, Andrea Delmastro, had also been summoned.

Delmastro: I have committed a slight

"Today I handed in my irrevocable resignation as Undersecretary for Justice. I have always fought crime, even with concrete and important results, and although I have done nothing wrong, I have committed a blunder that I remedied as soon as I became aware of it. I will take responsibility for it, in the interest of the nation, even more so than for the affection and respect I have for the government and the Prime Minister,' said Delmastro Delle Vedove.

The Case of the Steakhouse

The case broke out just as the referendum campaign was in the home stretch. At the tables of the Bisteccheria d'Italia, the restaurant on the Tuscolana of which Caroccia is the sole administrator and in which Delmastro held a 25% share, the undersecretary was at home. The Fatto Quotidiano published photos documenting the presence at the dinner also of the chief of staff of the Minister of Justice, Giusi Bartolozzi, who also ended up in the storm for having likened the judiciary to a 'firing squad' during a television broadcast in Sicily.

The shares had been sold by Delmastro, but nothing had been communicated by the undersecretary to the Ministry of Justice and Parliament. So much so that the Anti-Mafia Commission has already announced an in-depth investigation.

The requests of the oppositions

The opposition had tabled questions on the matter and called for the Anti-Mafia Parliamentary Commission to deal with the case. Riccardo Ricciardi, leader of the M5s group in the Chamber of Deputies, had announced that he would ask the Chamber's group leader tomorrow to schedule the motion to revoke Delmastro's duties, which had already been filed last Thursday. Delmastro's resignation comes after a meeting held in the afternoon at the ministry between Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Delmastro himself, and Nordio's chief of staff Giusy Bartolozzi, who ended up at the centre of controversy for some statements made before the referendum: she, too, is reportedly about to make her resignation official.