He clenches his fists in victory and hugs whoever comes his way. Matteo Salvini looks around, looking for Francesca Verdini. You, who were in the courtroom at the time of the sentence, she is in tears, she makes space among the crowd and reaches him: the two let go in a long embrace. The lawyer Giulia Bongiorno is moved. «You were all good», says Salvini.
Around 12 this morning the deputy prime minister had left the bunker of the Pagliarelli prison in Palermo to join his girlfriend, who was waiting for him in the car. Shortly after, they headed downtown for lunch. He would have expressed to his parents the desire to take a tour of the city for Christmas shopping.
During the afternoon he granted himself a surprise visit, again together with his girlfriend Francesca Verdini, to Palazzo dei Normanni, seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly.
A walk through the centre, a stop in front of the Rinascente where he stopped with some shop assistants who asked him to take selfies, but no Christmas shopping, as he had confided to his parents. Rather, the deputy prime minister decides to go to Palazzo Reale, seat of the Sicilian regional assembly, where he visits the Palatine Chapel, the Picasso exhibition and the Mattarella and Pio La Torre rooms with his girlfriend. Time for a greeting with the president of Ars Gaetano Galvagno and then off to the hotel before returning to the bunker classroom. The waiting begins, the smiles disappear, the tension rises. Francesca Verdini is always next to him, only moving away when the Court is about to enter. Then the reading of the verdict and the acquittal.
Selfie of Matteo Salvini with the Rinascente shop assistants in Palermo (ansa)
To support him on this difficult day, his girlfriend had written him a long post of encouragement on Instagram: «You are the kindest and bravest person I have ever met. You are loyal to the point of always being ready to lose out because you don't give a damn about losing out. You understood something deeper than life, and I am so grateful to you for giving me access to it. There is no anger, revenge or suspicion in the world where you take me. You are patient with my melancholy, understanding with my sadness and my fears, to the point of transforming them into hope. Despite the price of your sacrifices, you are always willing to see the good in everyone. You make me better every day, or at least, you make me hope I can be. It's true, it's all difficult, but still possible thanks to you.”
And she concludes: «I couldn't be more proud and grateful, Hold on, my love. I'm at your side.”
