Political short circuit at the Ministry of Health
Tension in the majority
Schillaci clears the commission with the two anti-vaxxers. Meloni doesn't like it, and work is underway on the minister's succession.
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The National Technical Advisory Group on Vaccination (NITAG), a key body for vaccination policies in Italy, has been officially abolished by Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci via a decree. This decision follows the heated controversy sparked by the appointment of two figures known for their skepticism toward vaccinations to the new committee: Paolo Bellavite and Eugenio Serravalle. It was clear from the signing of the appointment decree on August 5th that something was amiss: individuals like Bellavite and Serravalle, known for their positions against mandatory vaccination and critical of vaccination policies, immediately sparked outrage within the scientific community and among many institutional stakeholders. The director of the Veneto Region's Prevention Department, Francesca Russo, resigned from her position in protest, denouncing a composition "inconsistent with scientific evidence."
Faced with a petition supported by prestigious figures, such as Giorgio Parisi and the Transversal Pact for Science, denouncing a "serious sign of legitimization of anti-scientific theories," and with over 16,000 signatures collected, Schillaci was forced to manage the crisis. The minister thus found himself faced with the choice between calling on the two to resign—a mission that failed—or officially dismissing the entire Nitag commission. The dismissal, which occurred approximately ten days after the appointment, was officially justified by the need for "a new appointment process to involve all relevant categories and stakeholders" and to ensure "serious, rigorous, and unobtrusive work."
Yet, beyond the formal explanations, political tensions remain evident: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was reportedly displeased with the revocation, which sources at Palazzo Chigi described as "unconventional." In this volatile context, both Schillaci and Maria Rosaria Campitiello , head of the Prevention Department at the Ministry of Health, have emerged with their image tarnished. Either it was clear that Bellavite and Serravalle were problematic (and they ignored them anyway), or they are perceived as entities that endorsed a list—likely proposed by others—without even verifying the profiles of the nominees. This is a serious institutional flaw, suggesting superficiality or political appeasement toward sections of the majority critical of vaccination policies.
Yet the two controversial appointees had received the explicit support of the Brothers of Italy and the League , making the ministerial position even more fragile and ambiguous. The political legitimacy of the appointments was evident, but the subsequent backtracking exposed internal tensions within the majority. Not just a technical mix-up, therefore, but a potential internal political coup. One background story is particularly evocative: the appointments of Bellavite and Serravalle may have been a "poisoned meatball," aimed at targeting Schillaci and Campitiello. In the internal struggle for control of the ministry—particularly among the Brothers of Italy factions—the Undersecretary to the Prime Minister's Office, Giovanbattista Fazzolari, is reportedly promoting Schillaci's succession. The name in pole position? Rocco Bellantone, current president of the Italian National Institute of Health, whom he himself had nominated to lead the institute.
This makes the Nitag affair a veritable institutional debacle, a short circuit between science, politics, and ministerial apparatuses. The lost—and perhaps never truly regained—credibility weighs heavily on healthcare institutions. The figures of Schillaci and Campitiello are further undermined, while an irritated prime minister and an undersecretary poised to replace the minister create a scenario of internal warfare within the majority. Ultimately, the Nitag episode risks leaving profound scars: it highlights a weakening of trust in healthcare institutions, a fragile and politically contested decision-making process, and an internal situation within the Ministry of Health reminiscent of the Maritime Republics, marked in this case by constant infighting between factions within the same party.
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