The Group of Seven is meeting in the glorious surroundings of Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps, and while the scenery is breathtaking, the challenges before the leaders are formidable.
Russia’s war on Ukraine looms ominously over the meeting, as oppressive as the afternoon heat high up in the mountain resort.
The global economy is in trouble, inflation is surging, and a food crisis is deepening as Ukraine’s grain ports remain blocked. Europe is dashing to replace Russian oil and gas, sending fuel prices soaring — and climate action onto the back burner.
So full is the agenda that this is a three-day summit rather than the traditional two-day affair.
On help for Kyiv, “the policies of all our countries are very much aligned,” said German Chancellor and summit host Olaf Scholz.
Unity is one of the core themes of this summit. Even British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron put aside their quibbles and were pictured arm in arm.
The issue is more what the G-7 can do to mitigate the war’s fallout.
Successive rounds of sanctions on Russia haven’t stopped the fighting, now in its fifth month. India and China continue to buy up cheap Russian crude. Discussions over a cap on the price of Russian oil to curb Moscow’s revenue remain at the idea stage.
Voters face a summer of economic pain followed by what threatens to be a catastrophic winter in the northern hemisphere. US President Joe Biden, wearing his trademark aviator sunglasses at Elmau, knows that his domestic political outlook is darkening as a result.
The heat is building, and the forecast is for thunder storms.