French President Emmanuel Macron walks next to Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the first day of the G7 summit, at the Borgo Egnazia resort, in Savelletri, Italy June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo
Since assuming office in 2022, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has demonstrated a pragmatic approach to major international issues, alleviating concerns that she would be a rigid conservative unwilling to compromise. However, at the Group of Seven (G7) summit she hosted in southern Italy this week, Meloni underscored certain non-negotiable points aligned with her nationalist base, particularly regarding family and reproductive rights.
Leading up to the June 13-15 summit, the primary focus was on securing a multibillion-dollar loan for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets and addressing trade imbalances with China. Consensus on these matters was achieved, showcasing Western unity in confronting global challenges.
Unexpectedly, diplomats disclosed that Italy had insisted on removing references to “safe and legal abortion” from the final G7 statement and sought to dilute language concerning vaccination funding. Despite being relatively isolated, Meloni largely succeeded in these demands, leveraging Italy’s role as the rotating president of the G7 to influence negotiations, according to diplomats involved in the discussions.
“Meloni is against abortion and always has been; that was her red line, and honestly, we pushed early on. But when the presidency said ‘no,’ that was that,” a European diplomat stated, requesting anonymity. Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, like many arch-conservative groups in Europe and the United States, opposes abortion and promotes traditional family values.
“She has thrown a bit of red meat to her supporters,” remarked Daniele Albertazzi, a politics professor at Britain’s Surrey University and an expert in political populism. “She wants to stress that she is not on the same page as some progressive leaders on these issues because this is part of her identity, which has been diluted since she became prime minister,” he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist who has previously clashed with Meloni on social issues, including migration, expressed regret over the omission of specific references to abortion. Meloni dismissed the controversy on Saturday, arguing that the G7’s current statement maintained support for the goals of the Hiroshima declaration, which endorsed access to abortion, rendering it unnecessary to reiterate the language.
“I sincerely believe that the controversy was totally contrived,” she told reporters, emphasizing that she had no plans to outlaw abortion in Italy. However, indicating genuine discomfort over Italy’s stance, a senior U.S. official noted that President Joe Biden had objected to an initial draft that omitted references to abortion and did not mention Hiroshima. Later, a senior White House official stated that Biden fully supported the final wording of the 2024 communiqué, affirming his strong feelings about the language that was ultimately included.
Pope Francis, a vocal opponent of abortion, was a guest at the G7 summit. Italy’s Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, who is Meloni’s brother-in-law, remarked that discussing pregnancy terminations in the statement would have been inappropriate given the Pope’s presence. A European diplomat reported that during discussions on the terminology, an Italian negotiator remarked, “the pope will never accept it,” before correcting themselves to say, “Oh, I mean, my prime minister will never accept it.”
Italian officials did not immediately comment on this matter. While Meloni’s objection to abortion was well known, her move to soften the language on vaccinations was more surprising. Italy removed a line from the 2023 communiqué that called for “investment in global health through vaccine manufacturing capacity worldwide,” replacing it with a reference to “regional vaccines manufacturing initiatives.”
Vaccine skepticism has permeated conservative circles in both the United States and Europe. While Meloni did not support anti-vaccine campaigners during the COVID-19 pandemic, her party opposed many stringent COVID regulations that mandated vaccinations for work, public transport, and access to shops and restaurants. “She’s not anti-vax, but she’s partially anti-vax,” commented one of the European diplomats involved in the negotiations.
Meloni’s office declined to comment on these issues.
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