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. Video footage of the debauched 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.”

Another person responded: “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,” referring to other world leaders.

Other reactions were less positive.

“Italians are great in redefining the boundaries of tragicomedy,” one person tweeted critically, while another commenter, former Italian minister Juliette Meadel, said she would prefer Salvini “controls the turn table” instead of the Italian government through his ministership.

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 would not be the first time Salvini donned the headphones and took on DJ duties, appearing in another clip from 2016, temporarily working the DJ booth at an earlier festival at Papeete Beach.

Salvini, who heads up Italy’s right-leaning Lega Nord Party,  is no stranger to controversy. He spars with critics over Italy's immigration policy and the influence of Brussels. The minister’s personal life has also spilled over into the public sphere, with his former girlfriend Elisa Isoardi, an Italian TV presenter, ending their relationship through a highly-viewed Instagram post.

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