This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Two Sicilian women have photobombed Italy’s anti-LGBT and far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, with a same-sex kiss.

During an election rally in Caltanissetta, Gaia Parisi and Matilde Rizzo, approached Salvini, leader of the League party and deputy prime minister, for a selfie. But while Salvini was preparing to smile for the photo, the trap was set by the pair, who kissed in front of the camera.

The kiss was a clear protest against Salvini, who recently endorsed the anti-LGBT, anti-feminist, and anti-abortion World Congress of Families (WCF), held in Verona in March.

Salvini said his government would defend the rights of children to have “a mother and a father”. He added: “So long as I am minister, wombs for rent do not exist in practice – they are crimes.”

In an interview with the Italian news website Giornalettismo, the women explained the idea of challenging Salvini with a same-sex kiss came from the minister’s decision to endorse the Verona congress.

“This provocative idea came to our mind because he was clearly standing for the Verona’s WCF,” they said. “We have achieved our goal: we made ourselves heard and this is important.”

The WCF is a US coalition that promotes the values of the Christian right. Its three-day conference in Verona had the backing of the far-right League, a partner in Italy’s coalition government, and attracted Italian neo-fascist groups.

It is not the first time Salvini has been trolled during a speech. Last February, a 15-year-old from Sardinia approached the minister, who enjoys posing for selfies with his supporters. As soon as the teenage boy found himself next to Salvini, he recorded a video-selfie querying the minister over allegations that the League stole €49m (£42m) from the Italian state. Salvini walked away.