EU leaders ready to grill Trump
WANT ANSWERS: POTENTIAL FOR FRICTION HIGH Lunch with French president today.
Is Donald Trump really going to ditch the Paris climate change accord? Whither the sweeping tax cuts and “America first” trade policies he has also promised?
What is he up to in the Middle East and what exactly are his plans for North Korea?
US partners in the G7 club of industrialised democracies head for Sicily today hoping for at least partial answers to those and other questions from a US administration still deciding how to implement its radical policy agenda.
Six months after his election, Trump jets to the Italian island for the final leg of a gruelling first overseas trip that has temporarily diverted attention from an uncomfortable domestic spotlight on alleged campaign collusion with Russia.
By the time Air Force One touches down at a US military base, the presidential plane will have carried the new commander in chief to Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Vatican and to Nato and EU headquarters in Brussels.
The 70-year-old may be forgiven if he is a little tired but he will not escape a grilling from allies determined to divert him from a path they see as potentially disastrous for the architecture of the post-World War II world.
“The potential for friction is pretty great,” said Julilanne Smith, an analyst at the Centre for New American Security.
“These are leaders that are not yet convinced about the value of ‘Trumponomics’. They don’t understand it”.
Awaiting Trump in the ancient hilltop resort of Taormina will be ice cream makers who have been mixing up “gelatos” in the shape and colour of his celebrated orange-blond quiff.
But the US president, who will not be the only new face on the G7 block, will be focused on meeting leaders he will likely have to deal with for the duration of his term.
These include the youthful duo of Canada’s Justin Trudeau, with whom Trump has already tussled on trade and border issues, and new French President Emmanuel Macron.
Although Trump’s disdain for the EU does not sit well with Macron, both men share an interest in economic innovation and pro-business reforms. They are due to have lunch in Brussels today.