As this year’s G7 gets underway in Taormina, Italy, the world might be expecting to hear great announcements and declarations from the leaders of Italy, US, Germany, Canada, France, Japan and the UK on the topics of famine, refugees, climate change, and other issues that plague the world.

But those people would be wrong — no game-changing agreements or sweeping changes are expected to be announced, for a few reasons.

First, half of the world leaders attending the summit are newly elected to their positions. So the months, if not years, of discussions and negotiations, that usually take place ahead of the G7, haven’t taken place this year, as new governments have just gotten settled in.

Read More: G7 Leaders Set to Fail 500M They Promised to Lift out of Hunger

Second, several of the leaders in attendance are facing massive challenges at home. The UK’s Theresa May is in the throes of a snap election, which she called amid Brexit negotiations. The US’s Donald Trump has been dogged for months by the various investigations into his campaign’s possible ties to Russia. Germany’s Angela Merkel is facing an election in a few short months and is hosting this year’s G20 summit.

So without any major policy wins expected, that really means the G7 is just a great excuse these world leaders to meet each other and see how they get along. They can figure out who’s friendly with who, which leaders can’t stand each other, and so on, to get a sense of how their countries might all work together in the future.

And for us at home, that means we get to watch. Much like people gawk at "The Bachelor" each week as a rose is handed out at the end of each episode, Global Citizen imagines the G7 world leaders court freshly elected French President Emmanuel Macron.


Trump, known for his aggressive handshakes, seems to have met his match with Macron. The pair exchanged a white-knuckle shake during a solo meeting that didn’t appear very friendly.
During a group outing of world leaders, Macron appeared to favor Merkel over all the others, greeting her first with a kiss on the cheek.
Finally, Trump had a second chance with Macron. He took advantage of the moment and pulled Macron in for a classic, shoulder-injury-inducing handshake.
Then Trump got a chance to chat Macron up again on a group outing. Macron seems to be open to at least listening to Trump.
Macron then spent some time talking with Japan’s Shinzo Abe — the pair seemed to hit it off.
But then came Trudeau. The pair first shared a friendly, normal-knuckle-colored handshake Friday morning.
In the afternoon, Macron took Trudeau on a solo walk. They strolled along the grounds, talked quietly, and enjoyed the views.
Merkel seems to be onto Trudeau when they gather for another gathering.
Finally, it was time to find out — who would Macron give a rose to?
No surprises here! Trudeau and Macron look like a match made in heaven. Let’s hope together, they take action to help end extreme poverty around the world.

News

Demand Equity

If the G7 Summit Were 'The Bachelor'

By Cassie Carothers