London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

G7 leaders meet amid political pressures at home

G7 leaders meet amid political pressures at home

Amid the beauty of the Bavarian mountains and fields, a fundamental truth is immediately striking at this G7 Summit.
When a collection of democracies gather, each national leader is flexing to the political and public mood back home, subtly, sometimes strikingly different from one country to the next.

The G7 has an opponent in Russia, whose leader faces no such democratic pressure, and is acutely savvy about the weaknesses, as he might see them, of the western model of governance.

Amid the security and the choreography, the grip and grin photo ops and the alpine backdrops, the differences of emphasis between the G7 countries, and their desire to project a collective impression to the wider world is worth exploring in turn.

Firstly, those internal differences.

The prime minister, as we know, arrives here with domestic political issues having chased him north from the Commonwealth summit in Rwanda.

It'll probably chase him to the summit of the Nato defence alliance in Spain in a few days too.

He is out of the country for a week, while Conservatives back home from the cabinet speculate privately about his future.

But other leaders face domestic political pressures too.

Take President Emmanuel Macron of France, for instance. A few months after being re-elected as president, he's lost control of the French National Assembly.

The British government feel Germany and in particular France are feeling the domestic political pressure of some of the consequences of the Ukraine war - not least spiralling prices.

After Boris Johnson's meeting with President Macron, Downing Street told us: "The prime minister stressed any attempt to settle the conflict now will only cause enduring instability and give Putin licence to manipulate both sovereign countries and international markets in perpetuity."

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss co-wrote something very similar, with her Ukrainian counterpart, in the Sunday Telegraph.

Publicly, No 10 insists President Macron has done "huge amounts" to support Ukraine, but privately there is concern Paris is losing appetite for the long-term slog of the war, and its costs.

Beyond the internal G7 diplomacy, there are then the efforts being made together to reassure countries beyond the group, some of whom blame western sanctions as much as Russian aggression for rising prices, as my colleague James Landale writes about here.

Argentina, India and South Africa are among the other countries invited here to join discussions.

I'm told that tomorrow a quad of key countries will meet here - the United States, France, Germany and the UK.

Those around the prime minister talk about the need for a "gear change" on sanctions, and they believe the new ones on Russian gold contribute to this, and a "game changer" on military support, which will be talked about more at the Nato summit in Madrid.

Getting there, this week and beyond, will require persuasion and patience. And it comes at a cost.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×