KANANASKIS, Alberta — Keir Starmer’s team fancy their man as the foremost Trump whisperer at this week’s G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada. He’s not the only one vying for the title.
The stakes could hardly be higher. With rising tensions between Israel and Iran, peace still elusive in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs prompting a global trade war, there is a lot to talk about and plenty to disagree on.
Starmer told journalists en route to Canada that there would be “intense discussions” at the summit on all three issues, while also talking up his “good relationship with President Trump.”
One U.K. government official said Britain’s recent commitments to increase defense spending put Starmer in a better position to convince Trump to provide Ukraine with more support, which means he can serve as a bridge to the other leaders at this G7.
“It’s intensely personal with Trump. He likes to make deals one-on-one and so that personal relationship is key,” they added.
However, Starmer is not the only European leader around the G7 table to claim this mantle.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been dealing with Trump for the best part of a decade and fancies himself as Europe’s most senior politician. Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, meanwhile, sees herself as ideologically aligned with Trump and has deep connections to his MAGA ecosystem.
Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton said that “in Trump’s mind, international relations are seen through the prism of the personal relations of the country’s leaders.”
“If you go back to 2017, 2018, 2019, the thing everybody watched was the Macron-Trump handshake,” he said.
“They’ve got each other in a death grip and which weakling is going to give up the handshake first? So that could be your take on this Kananaskis G7.”
Bolton also has a warning for Starmer: “Be very careful how much U.K. capital, political capital you invest in that bridging effort [between Europe and America],” he said.
Love bomb strategy
A senior U.K. official said the successful charm offensive was the culmination of Starmer’s “high IQ and EQ,” combined with months of preparation and planning.
When the British prime minister sat down in the Oval Office on March 3, he gently touched Trump’s arm four times in 100 seconds during a joint press appearance.
For a 62-year-old Englishman, particularly this 62-year-old Englishman, the conspicuous display of affection must have felt as unnatural as it looked to most observers.
Starmer’s advisers credit the schmoozefest for what they see as a warm relationship between the pair — Trump has showered Starmer with effusive praise on several occasions, and they reached an economic agreement to reduce blanket tariffs — even if the real-world dividends have proved harder to find. The U.K. government on Sunday delayed the timeline for gaining exemptions from U.S. tariffs on British steel and cars, pushing it later into the week.
The French president also love-bombed Trump during his first term. This included inviting the U.S. president to a military parade on Bastille Day.
Trump praised Macron’s intelligence during last year’s U.S. election campaign, while also warning the French president would “take the shirt off your back if you didn’t know what you were doing.”
However, it is the EU that has taken a more active stance in the lead-up to the G7 on pushing further Russian sanctions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for the Russia oil price cap to be cut from $60 to $45 to put serious pressure on revenues for Vladimir Putin’s war machine. British officials say the U.K. supports this effort.
Fred Fleitz, a former Trump White House national security aide, said Trump feels “disrespected” by Vladimir Putin’s refusal to take peace negotiations seriously.
“There’s a good chance within the next few weeks that Trump ends the diplomacy and hits Russia with sanctions. But Trump will keep the door open to resuming talks,” he said.
However, Fleitz said Trump above all “hates the European Union.”
Kindred spirits
And then there’s Giorgia Meloni — who also has a long history of Euroskepticism.
The Italian prime minister has made much of her friendship with Vice President JD Vance and her ideological proximity to the MAGA movement.
Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party came to power on a wave of Italian right-wing nationalism back in 2022.
However, her ability to moderate in office and build strong personal relationships has also turned her into one of Europe’s most influential figures on the world stage — particularly on immigration policy.
Meloni said when visiting the White House in April that she and Trump were in pursuit of “western nationalism.”
Nicola Procaccini, a senior Brothers of Italy MEP, said: “Meloni is politically close to Trump, unlike Starmer and Macron.”
He said Meloni’s efforts in organizing a meeting between Vance and von der Leyen shows her “very important” role at this G7.
“The U.S is the world’s most important democracy and must be respected. Some EU leaders have been lacking in this respect and allowed their prejudice against Trump to prejudice them against the U.S.,” Procaccini added.
The world’s media will watch closely for any clues in Kananaskis about just how much respect is given to each leader — and whether any of them can turn that into progress on the key matters on the table.
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