Overview
- Giorgia Meloni held a roughly 20‑minute clarifying meeting at the Quirinale and voiced regret over Francesco Saverio Garofani’s "institutionally and politically inappropriate" remarks.
- Fratelli d’Italia leaders Galeazzo Bignami and Lucio Malan issued a joint statement calling the matter closed and reaffirming respect for President Sergio Mattarella, which the Presidency informally echoed.
- Presidential adviser Garofani confirmed the conversation as an informal chat, said he felt used, and neither resigned nor offered a formal denial.
- The Quirinale earlier expressed "stupore" at Bignami’s public request for a denial, criticizing credit given to what it described as an attack on the Presidency.
- Reactions in the majority diverged, with Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi downplaying the episode and Antonio Tajani calling it closed, while others questioned Garofani’s suitability for his role.