DJ Salvini? Shirtless Italian pol lives it up at beach party, rocks out to national anthem (VIDEO)

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has appeared in a video guest-starring in the DJ booth at a recent festival, dancing with bikini-clad women and partying shirtless with equally (un)dressed revelers.

Salvini, who doubles as Italy’s interior minister, can be seen manning the mixers during a music festival at Papeete Beach in the Italian resort town of Milano Marittima, near Ravenna. Video footage of the hedonistic celebration emerged over the weekend.

At one point, the gathering sings along to the Italian national anthem.

The spectacle drew mixed reactions on social media, with some commending the minister’s fun-loving spirit, while others cringed in embarrassment.

“We like to celebrate, for every occasion we do it, and we have never posed any problem,”said one Italian commenter on Facebook. “Certainly he is a minister, vice premier, but remember that our representatives in the institutions reflect the people. They do not ‘shine’ with their own light.”

“Perhaps a Salvini is better, not having to be protected by a pack of bodyguards, rather than a jester unable to walk alone in the street, if it has not been closed to the public,” another person responded, referring to other world leaders.

Other reactions were less positive.

“Italians are great in redefining the boundaries of tragicomedy,” one person tweeted critically, while former Italian minister Juliette Meadel said she would prefer Salvini “control the turntable” instead of the Italian government.

One disapproving French journalist sought to lecture Italians for their poor choice in ministers, but was soon met with a spate of replies about French President Emmanuel Macron, and his own collection of awkward or embarrassing moments.

This is apparently the second time Salvini donned the headphones and took on DJ duties at Papeete Beach. Another clip shows him at the same venue in 2016, nearly two years before he became deputy PM.

Salvini, who heads up Italy’s right-leaning Lega Nord Party, is no stranger to controversy. He routinely spars with critics over Italy’s immigration policy and the influence of Brussels on Rome.

The minister’s personal life has also spilled over into the public sphere, with his former girlfriend, Italian TV presenter Elisa Isoardi, ending their relationship through a highly-viewed Instagram post.

Like this story?