Italy's PM Seems To Ask Sunak The Only Diplomatic Question Possible Amid Brutal Election Campaign

• Kate Nicholson

  Thu, 13 June 2024 

  

  British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Antonio Masiello via Getty Images

  Giorgia Meloni appeared to ask Rishi Sunak the only diplomatic question she possibly could when the two leaders met today at the start of the G7 summit.

  As they greeted each other with an embrace in front of the cameras, the Italian PM leaned towards her beleaguered British counterpart and appeared to say: “Are you OK?”

  A seemingly innocent question, but accompanied with quite the worried expression.

  It’s not clear how Sunak answered – Meloni just smiled in response and leant away from him as he continued to grip her hands tightly, while the conversation seemed to move onto casual niceities.

  Watch their strange encounter here: 

  This exchange came hours after the prime minister faced a brutal grilling from both Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby and a live audience.

  He was even booed by the crowd when he blamed industrial action for long NHS waiting lists – despite pledging to bring them down himself at the start of 2023.

  Viewers also decided that Keir Starmer outperformed the PM last night, with almost two-thirds of the public thinking Sunak had not come across as well, according to YouGov.

  But, the debate was just the latest catastrophe of the last three weeks of Sunak’s disastrous campaign.

  From calling a snap election while standing in the pouring rain and facing awkward encounters with furious members of the public to leaving D-Day commemorations early only to be ridiculed for saying he had to go without Sky TV growing up, Sunak has lurched from PR crisis to PR crisis.

  Meloni, on the other hand, has had an excellent week.

  Her far-right party, the Brothers of Italy, experience a stomping victory in the European parliament elections, making her the only Western European leader to be strengthened by the controversial vote.

Reform overtakes Tories in poll as Sunak continues campaign absence for G7 summit

David Lynch, PA Political Staff
Fri, 14 June 2024 

Reform UK has overtaken the Conservatives in a major opinion poll, as Rishi Sunak continues his absence from the General Election campaign trail to meet world leaders in Italy.

A YouGov survey commissioned by the Times newspaper had Nigel Farage’s party at 19% to the Conservatives 18% in voting intention, in a crossover moment which is the latest blow to Tory hopes of returning to government.

Mr Farage hailed the poll, claiming his party were now the “opposition to Labour”, while in Italy the Prime Minister said he was not feeling dejected about his prospects in the election and would be “back on the campaign trail” as soon as he returned from the G7 summit.

Mr Sunak told reporters in Puglia he was “definitely not” down in the dumps after Wednesday night’s televised leaders’ event, in which a snap poll found Sir Keir Starmer came out on top.

The Prime Minister said there was a “clear” choice between his offer and that of Labour, which launched its manifesto on Thursday.

Mr Sunak added: “I’m energised to make that argument to the country with you here today.

“And then as soon as I’m back… you’re back on the campaign trail as soon as you’re back.”

Asked if he was missing campaigning amid the summit alongside the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, he said: “You have to be able to do both things in this job.”

In the YouGov poll which revealed the Tory-Reform reversal, Labour remains in the lead at 37% of voting intention, with the Liberal Democrats at 14%, the Greens at 7%, the SNP at 3%, Plaid Cymru at 1% and others at 2%.

It was conducted on a sample size of 2,211 adults in Britain between June 12 and 13.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (PA)

During ITV’s seven-way election debate on Thursday night, Mr Farage took aim at Conservative frontbencher Penny Mordaunt, and pointed to rising net migration despite Tory promises to control it.

“Why on earth should anybody believe the fifth manifesto that promises cuts to net migration?” he asked.

Ms Mordaunt was laughed at by the audience as she replied: “Because of the record of this Prime Minister.”

She warned: “Nigel is a Labour enabler. He is enabling no cap, no target, and no plan.”

But Mr Farage flipped the Conservative campaign rhetoric, which has also been used by Mr Sunak while canvassing for votes.

“As for being a Labour enabler, we are now ahead of you in the national polls. A vote for you is actually now a vote for Labour,” the Reform leader said.

“We are now the opposition to Labour,” he told the audience as the programme began, not long after the poll was published.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer arrives on board his election battle bus at a campaign event in Halesowen (PA)

The Tory and Labour election battle buses are not expected to take to the road on Friday but campaigning will continue.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting will promote Labour’s mental health offer, after warning there is a crisis in mental illness that is keeping people out of the jobs market and costing the country billions.

He will visit a men’s mental health facility as he seeks to showcase the proposal.

Elsewhere Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper will visit the east of England, as her party promotes its plans for a national food strategy aimed at curtailing household shopping costs.

The proposed strategy, revealed in the Lib Dem manifesto, would be backed up by a plan to boost the farming budget by £1 billion a year and is also aimed at supporting British farmers.