Silvia Salis, the leftwing mayor of Genoa and former Olympian, is described as ‘a breath of fresh air’ and potential unifier
It has been a turbulent month in Italian politics.
A failed referendum on a judicial overhaul pierced prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s aura of invincibility, triggering government resignations and leaving her scrambling to restore credibility. At the same time, her once special relationship with Donald Trump has frayed after the US president publicly scolded her this week for criticising his broadside against Pope Leo and for not supporting the US-Israeli war on Iran.
As the drama played out in Rome, a very different scene was taking shape in the northern Italian city of Genoa. More than 20,000 people filled the central Piazza Matteotti last weekend for a free performance by the award-winning Belgian techno DJ Charlotte de Witte.
It was more than just a party. Dancing on stage with De Witte was Genoa’s sunglasses-clad mayor, Silvia Salis, a former Olympic hammer thrower widely mooted as a plausible challenger to Meloni in the next general election. Footage of the event rapidly circulated online, amplifying Salis’s profile.
