Each year, seven of the world's wealthiest economies convene to deliberate over pressing global challenges. This year's Group of Seven meeting in Puglia, Italy, however, brought national issues to the fore with a tussle over abortion's inclusion in the group's final statement.
The resulting divisions from this year's summit may have reinforced Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative Catholic convictions. However, they more importantly revealed the relative weakness of the G7's remaining heads of state.
To the dissatisfaction of France's Emmanuel Macron and the U.S.'s President Biden, Prime Minister Meloni's insistence won out. Meloni's requested removal of the language left instead a broader reference to universal access to health care for women and the group's resolve to support women's reproductive rights.
“You don't have the same sensibilities in your country,” French President Emanuel Macron told an Italian journalist at the annual summit. “France has a vision of equality between women and men, but it's not a vision shared by all the political spectrum,” he continued. As leader of the first country in the world to enshrine abortion in its constitution, Macron's verbal jabs fell flat.
In a separate statement to Italian media Thursday, Italy's Meloni denounced the use of “a precious forum like the G7” to engage in campaigning. And she's not wrong. Of the seven countries represented, Italy's prime minister is the only leader to enjoy popular support back home.
A bruised Macron arrived to Italy on the heels of a dramatic upset that lost his party more than 30% to Marine Le Pen's far right in the recent E.U. parliamentary elections. Just days before the summit, the French president acknowledged defeat with a call for snap parliamentary elections. Italy's leading lady meanwhile celebrated a strengthened hand as a rising European power broker. Her right-wing party, Brothers of Italy, swept up 29% of the vote in E.U. elections.
President Biden's own behind-the-scenes pushback to final wording comes amid a fierce reelection campaign centered on abortion rights. Reported threats not to sign the document absent abortion's explicit mention apparently failed to materialize.
The beleaguered French leader is not the only one to suffer heavy political setbacks. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saw his party pull in just 13.9% of parliamentary votes, its lowest since World War 2. In the U.K., Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces likely ouster in his nation's July 4 elections. Outside of Europe, Canada's Justin Trudeau and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida similarly find themselves trailing in national polls.
Perhaps both Macron and Biden cannot be faulted for remaining true to their base. But neither can Meloni, who knows full well the negative economic impact that abortion bears on a population already in decline. With a steady drop in births, the country is already beginning to feel the squeeze of an ageing population dependent on Italy's health care and pension system.
France likewise suffers from fewer births. Just 678,000 babies were born last year, the lowest in the nation's post-war years.
In the United States, where fertility rates now fall below replacement level, an estimated 1,026,700 abortions were performed last year. Japan's own alarming plunge in births offers warning to other G7 members on the dire economic outlook if trends are not reversed.
So, sure Macron and Biden can play to their electorates on the world stage. But their singular focus on abortion is misguided at best. For a G7 facing unprecedented global challenges, none of Meloni's colleagues are leading from the helm. And a sideline debate over abortion just proved it.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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