ITALY (AFP) – From bear hugs to looks that could kill, G7 leaders may have put on a show of unity at an Italy summit last week – but it was not all la dolce vita.
Footage of the leaders singing Happy Birthday to Germany’s Olaf Scholz at Joe Biden’s urging was the perfect display of Group of Seven cooperation.
Thursday’s welcoming embrace between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the summit host, and Britain’s Rishi Sunak was so enthusiastic it went viral.
“Giorgia is fantastic,” Sunak told reporters last Friday, highlighting the two right-wing leaders’ cooperation on migration and defence issues.
But there was no such love between Meloni and France’s Emmanuel Macron, who have long had a fraught relationship and sparred over abortion rights.
After Macron expressed regret for the state of abortion access in Italy, Meloni accused him of using the summit for electioneering, with a snap legislative vote due in France within weeks.
The Italians were also irritated by Paris jumping the gun in announcing a new USD50-billion loan for Ukraine before it was sealed, diplomatic sources said. As Macron arrived at a formal dinner on Thursday night, Meloni was pictured shooting him a steely glare. Biden missed the dinner, with aides citing a packed schedule – although Italian media reported the 81-year-old was tired as he campaigns for re-election in a November vote.
The president’s health is a major issue in the campaign – although his rival Donald Trump turned 78 on Friday.
The media jumped on images of Biden wandering away from the other leaders at a photo opportunity at a golf course, with the New York Post dubbing him “meander in chief”.
Sunak later defended Biden, saying he had gone to talk to one of the parachute jumpers who descended from the skies on the leaders, each bearing a G7 nation flag.
