Italy’s Deputy PM Matteo Salvini was lured into a selfie trap by a pair of female students, who kissed in front of him and started a meme avalanche. But the supposedly “anti-LGBT” Salvini shot back by posting the viral photo.
Appearing at a rally in Sicily in support of fellow Northern League politician Oscar Aiello, Salvini posed for a selfie with two students who appeared to be fans. Instead of smiling and waving, the two women launched into a passionate kiss that caught Salvini off guard.
“Hello friend,” read the caption on the photo. Apparently, the couple kissed in front of Salvini to protest against his attendance at the World Congress of Families in Verona in March. The congress, which seeks to promote traditional family values, was picketed by LGBT and feminist groups. The pair were then apparently separated by a security guard, who slipped a hand in between the kissing duo.
The Italian media pounced, and LGBT outlets praised the two girls for standing up to Salvini’s “anti-LGBT views.” The kiss also became meme-fodder, with classical paintings and the famous ‘socialist fraternal kiss’ between Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honecker swapped in place of the lesbian lovers.
With left-wing Italians cheering the women’s “brave” stunt, Salvini himself tweeted the photo, wishing the “sisters” his “greetings, peace and wellness.”
Some observers were less impressed with the girls’ protest.
“You brave girls who kissed in front of Salvini,” one wrote. “Why don’t they do it during an Islamic prayer?”
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