New Delhi, March 26 -- Italy 's legally troubled tourism minister resigned on Wednesday in the fallout of Premier Giorgia Meloni's failed referendum on judicial reforms.

The departure of Daniela Santanche is a sign that Italy's 3 1/2-year-old right-wing government has been weakened by Monday's ballot box defeat of a key measure.

Meloni had demanded Santanche's resignation after two justice ministry officials stepped down in the wake of voters' resounding rejection of judicial reforms in a vote that was widely seen as a de facto confidence test on Meloni's leadership. In a statement on Tuesday, Meloni said she hoped Santanche would make a similar decision "in the same spirit of institutional sensitivity."

Santanche, who was seen as a ke...