Photo/Illutration Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a final news conference at the G-7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, near Bari in southern Italy, on June 15. (AP Photo)

How would the head of a country feel to appear on the international stage right after a disastrous election loss at home?

I tried to imagine as I studied the faces of the leaders of France and Germany who attended the Group of Seven summit in Puglia, Italy, in the wake of the European Parliament elections earlier this month.

As for other G-7 leaders, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is not projected to do well in the general elections next month, while U.S. President Joe Biden’s odds of being re-elected in November are unclear at best.

And in terms of vulnerability, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is definitely in contention, so to speak, because of his abysmally low approval rating.

In contrast, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni must have felt splendid as she welcomed the summiteers as their host.

Brothers of Italy, of which she is the president, became a symbol of the surge of right-wing parties in the European Parliament by winning the elections in Italy in a landslide.

The Italian government used to be dubbed the “revolving door” with its prime minister being replaced frequently, but Meloni is solidifying her political base.

When she assumed the premiership two years ago, she was labeled “ultra-right” for her statements, as well as for her party’s neo-fascist origin.

But contrary to expectations, Meloni has turned out to be a pragmatist who pursues pro-EU diplomacy. On the domestic front, however, she is a hard-liner on social issues such as abortion and the rights of sexual minorities.

I think her real self was revealed in the G-7 leaders’ communique.

Meloni reportedly deleted the words “safe and legal abortion” from the draft, even though she has denied doing so.

One speculation is that she insisted on removing those words out of consideration for Pope Francis, who became the first pontiff to attend a G-7 summit.

Abortion was legalized in Italy 46 years ago. However, the Meloni administration recently passed a bill to allow anti-abortion activists inside pregnancy consultation clinics.

Opponents are denouncing the move as a means for depriving pregnant women of their right to make their own choices by talking them out of having an abortion.

Abortion debates are prone to generate intense conflict as they involve religious and human right issues.

In this election year of about half the global population having voting rights, I just pray that abortion will not be used as a bargaining tool that completely ignores women’s dignity and health.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 18

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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