Russia’s war against Ukraine, the difficult situation in the global economy, the climate crisis: the G7 summit is packed with serious issues. But what else happened there? A little overview.
The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and its consequences are the dominant topics of the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria.
But serious as the situation is, just before their first working session, the G7 heads of state and government poked fun at Russian President Vladimir Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was the last to join the round at Schloss Elmau on Sunday afternoon, as can be seen on television pictures. In view of the high temperatures, he asked whether jackets were to be taken off or not, adding: “We all have to show that we are tougher than Putin.” The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau replied, among other things: Riding with a bare chest, you have to do that. He alluded to a well-known photo of Putin in such a pose. The quotes were recorded by camera crews who were briefly allowed to film in the room before the start of the G7 round.
Summit participants pose in front of a famous bank
That should be the picture of the G7 summit in 2022: the heads of state and government gathered on Sunday evening at the wooden bench where an iconic picture of former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) with then US President Barack Obama was created in 2015.
Seven years ago, Obama sat in the middle of the bench and spread his arms very casually on the backrest, while Merkel also stood in front of him with her arms outstretched.
This time, the seven heads of state and government as well as EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel stood in a row behind the bench with the Alpine panorama in the background. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put his arms over the shoulders of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in an almost friendly manner, while French President Emmanuel Macron did without his jacket.
Biden looks in traditional costumes
When Joe Biden got off the plane for his first visit to Germany as US President, the 79-year-old first saw a number of décolletés with bouquets of flowers in them. A good dozen women in traditional Bavarian dresses, some with fur hats despite the height of summer, stand in line at Munich Airport and smile at the most powerful politician in the world. Separately from them, men in leather trousers are also waiting on the red carpet for the guest at the G7 summit. At Biden’s side, the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder proudly walks, also in a traditional jacket.
Foreign journalists also make the costume parade a topic. “For me, Germans never dress like that when I come to visit,” wrote British columnist Ian Bremmer, who has almost 700,000 followers on Twitter. In the comments below, a number of Germans, obviously embarrassed, quickly sought clarification. “These people are Bavarians. Germans don’t dress like that,” wrote one user.
Make way for Biden
After landing at Munich Airport, most of the heads of state and government were taken by helicopter from Munich Airport to Schloss Elmau, almost all of them by the federal police. Not so, of all people, Joe Biden, who arrived in the middle of the night on Sunday. The US President was flown from Munich to a small airport in Ohlstadt, but then covered the last 40 kilometers in a limousine. The reason, according to information from the German Press Agency: Due to bad weather, the US President’s pilots had not been able to practice landing near Schloss Elmau sufficiently often in the days before the summit – the “Bild” newspaper had initially reported on this .
So that no demonstrators could get in the way of the president, the police in Garmisch, for example, blocked the entire route through the middle of the city long beforehand with barriers and a large number of emergency services – crossing impossible. Apparently, most of them took it easy: when the presidential column finally passed the route, cheers from onlookers could even be heard.
G7 affiliate program with ladies only
The husband of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was missing, so it soon became clear that the traditional G7 partner program would become an all-women group. But the First Lady of the USA, Jill Biden, and other partners did not come to Elmau either. In the end there were only four participants: hostess Britta Ernst, the wife of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French President, Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie and Amélie Derbaudrenghien, the wife of EU Council President Charles Michel. The program for the partners included activities appropriate to the region: Nordic walking with the ski stars Christian Neureuther and his daughter-in-law Miriam, talks with researchers from Germany’s highest environmental research station in the Schneefernerhaus and a meeting with a master violin maker from nearby Mittenwald.
Soeder and the G6
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder welcomed the G7 leaders in advance via Twitter on Saturday – but one was missing from the photo: the Chancellor. “The world as a guest in Bavaria: Welcome to Bavaria,” wrote the CSU boss. “We welcome the most important heads of state in the world.” Apart from the fact that not all are actually heads of state, but “only” heads of government, the photo only showed six instead of seven, quasi G6 instead of G7: Biden, Macron, Johnson, Trudeau, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Ironically, Scholz was missing – which brought Söder a lot of criticism and ridicule on Twitter. A Twitter user just looked up the CSU welcome photo for the 2015 G7 summit in Elmau: At that time there were seven – with Chancellor Angela Merkel in the foreground.
Organic Wagyu tartare and golden trout
Serious issues, exclusive food: the G7 heads of state and government were served a varied lunch at Schloss Elmau on the first day of the G7 summit – first beef tartare, then golden trout. According to dpa information, the menu looked like this:
- Bavarian organic Wagyu tartare/baked
Elmauer green sauce, escabeche vegetables, horseradish - Birnbaum’s gold trout from Landsberg – poached in camelina oil
Tarragon mustard, kohlrabi, Bavaria Juwel – browned - Caramelized sour cream tart
Wheatgrass, false raspberry – gelled
Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
