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.

“She’s been a breath of fresh air,” said Giulia Bianchi, a business consultant from Genoa. “She’s especially well liked for injecting some youthful energy into a dormant and demographically old city.”

Salis, 40, was elected mayor of Genoa less than a year ago, clinching a key victory for the opposition in the sprawling port city, which had previously been under rightwing rule for eight years. A progressive unaffiliated to any party, she held a senior role at Italy’s Olympic Committee before being asked to stand for mayor by an alliance of leftwing and centrist forces. Her success immediately positioned her as a potential unifier at national level.

Although the opposition has been invigorated by Meloni’s referendum setback, which many saw as a broad rejection of her government, it remains fragmented and has no clear leader to credibly take on the prime minister in the next election, which is due to take place before October 2027.

Elly Schlein, who heads the Democratic party, the biggest opposition party, and Giuseppe Conte, the former prime minister who leads the Five Star Movement, are expected to fight it out in primaries once the alliance has agreed to a programme.

But neither of them hold much appeal among Italian voters as potential prime ministers.

Salis, who competed in two Olympics and has the five-circle logo tattooed on her neck, had promised to complete her mandate as mayor, but in a recent interview with Bloomberg appeared open to entering the playing field.

“It’s clear I can’t escape this national attention, I can’t dodge the questions. It’s an interesting thing, it flatters me,” she said. Although she said she would not take part in any primaries, she would contemplate leading the opposition if asked. “In the face of a unifying request I can’t say I wouldn’t even consider it. That’d be lying.”

Charlotte de Witte’s free DJ set organised by Genoa council stood in symbolic contrast with Giorgia Meloni’s ‘anti-rave’ law passed in 2022. Photograph: Emanuela Zampa/Getty Images

The techno party didn’t happen by chance. Genoa’s council footed the bill as part of Salis’s strategy to use public space for free events to promote social inclusion and urban renewal, especially for younger residents. The party was also symbolic, contrasting with Meloni’s “anti-rave” decree, which clamped down on unauthorised gatherings in one of the first laws enacted by her government after coming to power in October 2022.

Since becoming mayor, Salis’s other priorities have included revitalising the economy of the once-powerful maritime republic, improving public transport and combating crime.

Salis raised her profile through her participation in protests last autumn against the war in Gaza, and by supporting port workers who blocked shipments of weapons destined for Israel.

“She just really put herself out there, in stark comparison with Meloni, who never expressed a position one way or another,” said Bianchi. “I find her really refreshing and promising.”

Davide Ghiglione, a Genoa-born journalist, said Salis has strong appeal mainly because she is making young people a priority. “Genoa is a city with one of the oldest populations in Europe and previous administrations have been accused of forgetting young people.”

“She’s young, she’s dynamic,” said Ghiglione. “She didn’t come from a political background, but she’s an excellent communicator and uses social media well.”

Salis is also admired for the way she has handled sexist comments and criticism, including those over her dancing in Manolo Blahnik heels, to which she responded by saying she supports leftwing values but just wants to dress well.

Bianchi said taking aim at Salis for her shoes was clearly a sign of desperation from those trying to eclipse her rising star. “She wears a pair of Blahniks – is that the best they can do? How pathetic.”