Italy’s coalition partners insist the government will serve its full term and not seek an early election despite the first major setback of Meloni’s premiership, three ministerial departures, and mounting questions about the road to 2027.
Italy’s ruling coalition moved quickly on Monday to contain the political fallout from its referendum defeat, with both deputy premiers dismissing talk of an early election. They insisti that the government would press on until the end of its parliamentary term, even as a wave of resignations signalled that Premier Giorgia Meloni is already reshaping her cabinet.
“No one is thinking of early elections,” said Foreign Minister and Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani, speaking via video link to a food and culture event organised by veteran journalist Bruno Vespa. “There are repercussions when you have a negative result, but now we must work on economic issues above all — growing the economy, preventing the energy crisis from interfering with businesses, reducing the tax burden and continuing to increase GDP.”
His coalition partner and fellow deputy premier, League leader Matteo Salvini, was equally unequivocal. He told an event in Milan hosted by the newspaper Il Giornale that the “government will press on and reach the end of the parliament term without doubt and without any hesitation.”
Three resignations and a reshuffle on the horizon
The defeat has already had immediate consequences inside the cabinet. Three government figures resigned in the days following the result, in what Italian media are describing as a deliberate effort by Meloni to clear out potentially damaging figures ahead of next year’s general election.
Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè resigned on Wednesday evening, almost 24 hours after Meloni had publicly said she should go, amid multiple criminal probes relating to her business interests. On Tuesday, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio’s Chief of Staff Giusi Bartolozzi and Justice Undersecretary Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove also stepped down.
Bartolozzi had become a liability after telling a television talk show that the reform would “get rid of” magistrates operating like “execution squads.” That remark was widely criticised for revealing what opponents characterised as the true intention of the reform. Delmastro came under fire after it emerged he had been a business partner in a Rome restaurant with the teenage daughter of Michele Senese, a convicted boss linked to the Neapolitan Camorra operating in the capital.
Meloni has taken on the Tourism portfolio herself in the interim, and speculation is already circulating about potential replacements. Former Veneto governor Luca Zaia and Alessandra Priante, head of the national tourism agency ENIT, have both been mentioned as possible names in a forthcoming mini-reshuffle.
A weakened but unbowed premier
The victory of the “No” side was seen as a blow to the Meloni government and a boost to opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general election, ending a three-year period of relative calmness unusual in Italian politics.
Analysts noted that the referendum result provides a major boost to the centre-left opposition, with frustrations around the government’s performance on the economy and the war in the Middle East coming into focus throughout the campaign. Opposition leader Elly Schlein of the Democratic Party called the result a rejection of the government’s arrogance. Five Star leader Giuseppe Conte went further, declaring it “an eviction notice for this government.”
Political analysts, however, urge caution about writing off Meloni entirely. There are few signs of a split between the government parties that could imperil her leadership. Both Tajani and Salvini have rallied publicly behind her, and the coalition’s parliamentary majority remains intact.
