Donald Trump of the United States has broken with many of his fellow leaders of the Group of Seven at some point. But Italy’s Giorgia Meloni this week did something none of them dared: she went overboard.
Unlike Spain’s Socialist Pedro Sanchez, one of the few leaders in Europe who has made political capital from Trump’s vilification, the Italian prime minister had emerged as one of the few Europeans he really liked: an easy-going conservative with Maga. But Meloni has also changed from a popular politician to a practical one.
When last year Trump repeatedly praised her looks — saying, “You don’t mind being called beautiful, right? You are” — and others protested, he let it slide. That is why his decision to respond to his provocations and some of them is not in line with the way many of his group have chosen to deal with Trump’s broadside.
In the past 24 hours, the man Trump once praised for taking “Europe by storm” has done three things that some of America’s allies may have thought about privately, but never said publicly. He said he lies and goes to the enemies while turning to his friends. He also chided her by telling her to look at her own polling as the November midterms approach, no doubt aware that her popularity has fallen further.
The background to the split — and why it’s not your average kerfuffle — is important. It came, in part, after a raucous G7 meeting in which many leaders put aside their misgivings about the peace deal Trump was about to sign with Iran. Trump left the G7, a group he has criticized in the past, describing it as “one of the most successful”.
The G7 is a group that includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The EU is also represented within the G7.
