Italy's Meloni shows her arch-conservative credentials at G7 summit
BARI, Italy - Since taking office in 2022, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has proved a pragmatic partner on major international issues, assuaging fears she would be a dogmatic conservative unwilling to compromise.
Broad consensus was found on both issues and hailed as proof of Western unity in the face of global challenges. "Meloni is against abortion and always has been, so that was her red line and honestly we pushed early on. But when the presidency said 'no' that was that," said a European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"She wants to stress that she is not on the same page as some progressive leaders on these sort of issues because this is part of her identity and it has been diluted since she became prime minister," he added.French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist who has clashed with Meloni in the past over social concerns, including migration, told reporters at the summit that he regretted the fact there was no longer specific reference to"abortion".
However, signalling that there had been genuine discomfort over Italy's position, a senior U.S. official said President Joe Biden had objected to an initial draft that removed reference to abortion and made no mention of Hiroshima. A European diplomat, who declined to be named, said that during discussions on whether or not to use the word, an Italian counterpart had told fellow negotiators:"the pope will never accept it". They then corrected themselves to say:"Oh, I mean, my prime minister will never accept it", the diplomat said.While Meloni's objection to abortion has long been known, the move to water down the language on vaccinations came as more of a surprise.
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