Jun 13, 2024 - World

World losers gather at G7 summit

Dave Lawler

Leaders look to sky — President Biden and his fellow G7 leaders watch a skydiving demonstration at the summit in Fasano, southern Italy, Thursday. Photo: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is the odd one out among the leaders at this year's G7 — not because of her hard-right politics, but because her approval rating is above 40%.

Why it matters: Meloni's brand of politics is on the rise in Europe, as Sunday's EU elections proved, and she's hosting a who's who of humbled PMs and presidents.

Driving the news: President Biden flew to Italy while trailing former President Trump in most polls — and a day after his son Hunter was convicted on felony gun charges.

Biden's 37% approval rating positively sparkles next to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (30%), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (25%), U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (25%), French President Emmanuel Macron (21%) and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida (13%), per Morning Consult's tracker.
Sunak looks almost certain to lose his job in elections on July 4. In the European Parliament elections, Scholz's party finished a distant third behind the far-right, while Macron's performed so badly that he called a shock snap election.

What to watch: While the G7 leaders may be battered and bruised, they are expected to make some news.

They're preparing to offer Ukraine a $50 billion loan using interest from frozen Russian assets.

Behind the scenes: Biden and Meloni's teams have reportedly tussled over her desire to exclude a reference to "safe and legal abortion" from the joint G7 communiqué.

Add Axios on Google

World losers gather at G7 summit

What to read next