The G7 in Puglia is providing the backdrop to an under-the-radar clash between Giorgia Meloni and Emmanuel Macron. Firstly, the Italian prime minister and the French president are addressing the issue of the new governance of the European Union from very different perspectives and with clearly contrasting objectives. The leader of the Brothers of Italy, in light of the growth of right-wing forces, aims to hinder the moves of the popular, socialists and liberals for a rapid reconfirmation of Ursula von der Leyen and the maintenance of alliances in the name of the status quo. But to those who asked him if Meloni is now stronger, Macron replied dryly that “the political balances” in the Old Continent “have changed relatively little” (G7 IN PUGLIA, SECOND DAY OF WORK: FOLLOW THE UPDATES LIVE).
The meeting between Marcon and von der Leyen on the eve of the summit
Moreover, tensions between the two leaders were palpable not only on the first day of the summit in Puglia, but also on the eve of the G7. A fundamental disagreement that did not only concern the paragraph on abortion in the leaders’ final declaration. In fact, the day before the summit in the Borgo Egnazia resort, Macron met Ursula von der Leyen, a key figure in the complicated power game for the European Commission summit. Just after that face-to-face meeting, the announcement came from Paris of the agreement on the use of frozen Russian assets to provide new aid to Ukraine. Precisely one of the “concrete results” that Meloni, as rotating president of the group of the Big Seven, aimed to obtain and which he was only able to announce in the final declaration at the end of the first day, while underlining that it was a “non-obvious” objective which it makes her “particularly proud”.
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Meloni collects the “large” share on the Mattei Plan
Despite this Rome-Paris short circuit, the outcome of the summit so far is positive for the Prime Minister. “I’m happy, of course,” Meloni told journalists and photographers, before attending the flag ceremony. While waiting for today, “historic” in its own way given that for the first time, a Pope will be a guest of the G7 as a special guest to discuss the ethical limits of artificial intelligence, the leader of the Brothers of Italy wanted to underline ” the broad sharing” by the leaders on the Mattei Plan proposed by the Italian government to deal with the migrant emergency. A topic on which you can already announce that you have obtained everyone’s consensus on the final declaration.
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The diplomatic incident on the issue of abortion
However, the diplomatic incident regarding the protection of abortion remains evident. In this, according to reconstructions reported by other international delegations, the prime minister found herself isolated in an attempt to avoid an explicit reference to the termination of the pregnancy, a position anticipated on the eve also by French sources. The irritation of Palazzo Chigi was evident in the tone with which Italian sources described the episode as a case of “post-election exploitation”. Meloni also underlines: “There is no reason to argue about issues that we have already agreed on for some time. And I believe it is profoundly wrong, in difficult times like these, to campaign using a precious forum like the G7”. The accusations were not explicit, but it is easy to imagine that they were aimed at France.
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The chess match in view of the appointments of the EU Commission and Council
Macron’s action, therefore, appears to be a disturbing action for Meloni, who was banking on the success of the G7 to strengthen his position in the next negotiations between the 27 member countries for the key roles of the Commission and the EU Council. The first informal meeting will be on Monday in Brussels. The prime minister’s cold greeting with von der Leyen in Borgo Egnazia confirms that enthusiasm for her second mandate is very low. From the Italian point of view, any negotiation will have to include a major commissioner position and a vice-presidency of the Commission. But Meloni does not seem to be in a hurry, probably preferring to wait for the legislative elections in France on 30 June. The prime minister is confident that Marine Le Pen’s far-right, after her success at the European elections, will come into government, strengthening the change called for by the conservative forces after the European Parliament elections. For Macron, however, who called the early vote precisely so as not to be worn down by the opposition forces and bring out the contradictions within the French right, the objective is to make the European triumph of the Rassemblement National become in a light breeze that will not change Nothing.
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The kiss of the hand before dinner with Mattarella
Late yesterday evening, the French president nevertheless wanted to tone down the tug-of-war. Before the dinner at the Castello Svevo in Brindisi, hosted by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella for the leaders of the G7, Macron, the last of the guests to arrive, remained in the car for a few minutes, engaged in a phone call which he concluded shortly after getting off. Walking on the red carpet he hinted at a smile, and greeted Mattarella with a warm handshake. Then he leaned towards Laura Mattarella, the daughter of the head of state, to kiss her hand, a gesture that he replicated with Meloni, after the tensions between the two during the first day of the summit.
