(Bloomberg) -- The sudden resignation of the head of Italy’s secret service has caused a stir in Italian politics, just as Giorgia Meloni’s government negotiated the release of an Italian journalist held by Iran.
Elisabetta Belloni, the first woman to serve as head of intelligence, was appointed to the role by former Prime Minister Mario Draghi in 2021. A widely respected career diplomat, considered by many to be one of Italy’s most capable political operators, Belloni successfully navigated her career through successive governments of all political extractions. She also served as the Italian sherpa to the Group of Seven last year with Meloni’s blessing.
Belloni is said to have fully enjoyed Meloni’s trust, along with only a handful of other long-time aides. That trust hit the wall in the lead up to her exit, people close to the matter said.
There had been friction between the spy chief, Meloni, and key figures in the Italian premier’s cabinet, including undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said.
Belloni didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment through a spokeswoman.
Trust remains a big issue for Meloni as the Italian leader is known to follow her instincts and trusts virtually no one when it comes to decision-making.
Belloni’s withdrawal, just months before her mandate was due to expire in May, has rocked Rome’s political establishment. Her departure also throws into sharp relief how Meloni is tightening her widening grip on Italy’s government apparatus.
Meloni announced Thursday she would name Vittorio Rizzi as the country’s new spy chief. The premier also said of Belloni that “respect for her and their personal relationship” were “unchanged.”
“I expect her career won’t end here,” she told reporters.
In a highly unusual move, the outgoing spy chief told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Wednesday she wasn’t “slamming the door on her way out” but that she had become convinced that the “last few months of her mandate would have been a real war of attrition.”
Her departure, effective January 15, unleashed speculation over what pushed one of Italy’s high profile officials to step down so unexpectedly. Belloni had tendered her resignation right before Christmas, and it is believed the move was to be kept under wraps until the very last moment. But a report from Repubblica newspaper Sunday night revealing the news unleashed a firestorm.
“The meat grinder I have ended up in these days requires me to clarify what happened and above all to dispel the insinuations that are harmful not so much to me as to the country, especially in such a delicate moment,” she said on Wednesday, without detailing what the suggestions were. “I’m still in charge and won’t eschew my duties.”
Later on Wednesday, Italy announced journalist Cecilia Sala, who was in Iranian custody since last month, had been released, in a complicated set of negotiations that involved Belloni. Sala’s case has been linked to a Swiss-Iranian national held by Italian authorities at the request of the US. Meloni discussed the issue directly with Trump in Mar-a-Lago.
Belloni’s exit has raised questions among political advisers populating the Roman palazzi, with her departure seen as a seismic development for domestic politics. Belloni is also rumored to be in the running for a top job in Brussels, perhaps even advising European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on migration and foreign policy, said people familiar with the matter. But she told Corriere “nothing” had yet been decided – even if it would be an “honor” to serve in the commission.
Belloni’s rise to the top of Italy’s government apparatus took about four decades and was built on a series of ever greater calculated risks, say people familiar with the matter. Her management style has been described as professional, but ruthless and difficult to read at times. Aware of these criticisms, she told Corriere it wasn’t “mandatory” to be liked by everyone, as long as that didn’t lead people to question the results of her work, which, she said hasn’t happened.
Tajani had a difficult relationship with Belloni – accusing her of concentrating power in her figure and creating an outflow of diplomats from the foreign ministry to get them to work for her, people close to the matter said.
In the current political landscape in Italy, it is increasingly difficult to thrive in the government apparatus without being in Meloni’s so-called “magic circle.”
Civil servants and political operatives who fall outside that sphere have learned to act like wallpaper, according to people with knowledge of the internal power dynamics. They blend into the background, speak when spoken to, and otherwise keep a low profile, one of them said.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.