Last week, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted a selfie with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, taking the internet by storm. In no time, the post, both on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) became the top trending topic. However, more than the picture, the hashtag ‘Melodi’ (Meloni and Modi) accompanied by it caught everyone’s eye.
#Melodi dominated Twitter, accumulating an astounding 1.28 billion impressions globally, with approximately 267,000 tweets and mentions. Meloni’s post incorporating this hashtag garnered about 45 million views, over 450,000 likes, and nearly 60,000 shares.
The selfie continued to sway the internet for quite some time. On X, for example, #Melodi remained the top trend for more than a day while on Instagram from December 1 to 5, the hashtag gained the highest interaction count, reaching a staggering 6.61 million.
The hashtag not only shook the internet but was also the top-searched keyword on Google between December 1 and 3 along with “Meloni”. Interestingly, “Melodi” attracted the highest search volumes on Google in Denmark, Indonesia, Norway, and Tanzania, showcasing global interest.
Although witnessing a downfall before her post with Modi, Meloni’s Instagram follower count saw a substantial growth post-November 30. On the last day of November, Meloni had 2.15 million followers, but by December 5th, it surged to 2.30 million, indicating a 7 per cent growth within days.
Modi and Meloni’s growing friendship which has been frequently observed on international platforms not only indicates the strengthening of ties but also signifies a turnaround of relations between India and Italy during Modi’s tenure.
Relations between India and Italy hit rock bottom in 2012 after a case involving Italian marines and Indian fishermen where the former were accused of killing the former near the coastline in the south of Kerala.
Diplomatic ties between the two nations saw some improvement after former Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni visited India in 2017, making it the first such visit in a decade.
After this, a virtual bilateral summit between PM Modi and the then-Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in 2020 further boosted relations between the two countries. The following year, PM Modi’s visit to Italy marked a milestone, being the first such visit in over a decade since former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip in 2009.
Meloni’s selfie with Modi served as an icebreaker for India and Italy to collaborate on a larger scale. For example, Italy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and has actively engaged with New Delhi to work on initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the Global Biofuel Alliance.
Meanwhile, trade between Italy and India has more than doubled in two years, reaching a record 15 billion euros by 2022.
Earlier this week, Italy formally withdrew from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with some speculations suggesting that the decision was driven by the country’s growing ties with India.
Therefore, Italian PM Meloni’s selfie with PM Modi accompanied by #Melodi appears to be symbolic of the improving and shifting relationship between the two countries.
