Photo: Gaia Parisi/Instagram
“We queued with his supporters and when it was our turn, we kissed while I was taking the photos,” one of the girls, Gaia Parisi,told BuzzFeedin an article published on Wednesday. They had been protesting at an event in Caltanissetta, Sicily, where Salvini spoke,according to CNN.
She continued:”An officer immediately separated us, as you can see in the second photo. Salvini’s reaction was giving a pat on [the other teen, Matilde Rizzo]’s head and saying, ‘auguri e figli maschi.’ That’s an Italian saying that could be translated with ‘I wish you all the best and male sons.’ ”
The girls responded with, in Parisi’s words, an ironic “thank you” and were off. In the ensuing days, however, their kiss-photobomb spread widely on social media.
Salvini — the Italian deputy prime minister, interior minister and head of the League political party —also postedthe photos with the two girls, along with the seemingly lighthearted caption “Auguri, pace e bene sorelle,” or (roughly) “Greetings, peace and love sisters.”
But Parisi told BuzzFeed the kiss was a political statement that may have evaded Salvini’s grasp, or which he may have been shrugging off given his owncarefully crafted social media strategy. (His team told CNN they had no further comment.)
“Our photo was a protest, we had an important message to share,” Parisi told BuzzFeed, explaining that the kiss was about “fighting hate with love.” She and Rizzo are friends.
Echoing what she told BuzzFeed, Parisi told CNN that her focus with Rizzo was on “a message of love and tolerance against the language and the attitude of hatred that politicians like Matteo Salvini keep spreading.”
“Even a simple and natural act like a kiss can open a political debate,” she said.
Salvini was the keynote speaker,according to CNN.
source: people.com
