A very unflattering image of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made it to the front page of the right-wing newspaper Libero, signaling that the country’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was not happy about being ambushed about her administration’s LGBTQ+ stance on-camera.
The two leaders were in Hiroshima, Japan for this year’s G7 Summit over the weekend. The duo were slated for closed-door bilateral talks during the summit, and right before the talks started and the cameras left the room, Trudeau said that “Canada is concerned about some of the positions Italy is taking on in terms of LGBT rights,” adding that he is looking forward to discussing the matter with Meloni.
Meloni, who was visibly annoyed, kept silent as Trudeau continued to speak, summing up his remarks in both English and French. Meloni’s administration has effectively stopped city councils from recognizing both parents for parental rights in same-sex couples, instead limiting it to the biological parent of the child. The move was called homophobic and was received with protests.
Before leaving the summit, Meloni told reporters that the Canadian premier was a “bit rash” in his comments, and said that after their private meeting, he probably understood “that what gets written about her doesn’t correspond to reality,” according to a report from Bloomberg, noting that Trudeau may be “the victim of fake news.”
Meloni added that she has not changed any existing legislation on LGBTQ issues. A statement from Trudeau’s office said that he raised the issue during their meeting and that Meloni “defended her government’s position by saying it’s following court rulings related to LGBTQ matters.”
Trudeau has not commented on the Italian premier’s remarks.
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