The two 19-year-old students are not a couple but wanted to make a statement against the minister's conservative agenda.
ADVERTISEMENTItaly's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was photobombed and he doesn't look very comfortable about it.
It happened in Caltanissetta, Sicily, where he was attending a rally in support of Oscar Aiello's — like Salvini a member of ruling League party — bid for mayor. It was instead of going to memorials for Italy's liberation from Nazi occupation, a decision which has caused much outrage.
Salvini was taking a selfie with supporters when two female students, Gaia and Matilde, decided to kiss in protest of him attending a conference on family values in Verona in March.
The picture, which was taken by Gaia, was initially posted on her Instagram on Thursday with the ironic caption "Hello friend" and tagged Salvini. But the photo went viral after Italian civic activist Marco Furfaro shared it on Facebook with the caption: "Caltanissetta protesters. Love beats hate 3-0. Trolling Salvini to the extreme. You rock Gaia and Matilde."
The image was then used by several LGBT websites before ending on the online pages of the major national newspapers.
On Italian Twitter, the hashtag #GaiaeMatilde was also trending.
The video below shows the moment Gaia takes the picture.
Seconds later, Gaia tried taking another photo kissing her friend but an agent of security swiftly put their hand to separate the two.
The photo, which can be seen on her Instagram Stories, is captioned: "The hand of another friend that divides."
Salvini's expression has become a meme since.
"When the minister urged those present to take the stage and take a selfie with him, we had this idea because he participated in World Congress of Families as a minister," Gaia told Euronews. "We made a provocative instinctive gesture, not at all premeditated. On stage, Salvini did not expect us to take a picture like this. When we kissed, an agent I think, separated us sharply and Salvini then told us 'I wish you luck' so we took off thanking him ironically."
Salvini also met other forms of protest while in Caltanissetta. He was greeted by a group of protesters who sang the famous Italian folk song Bella Ciao and shouted "shame" at him.