(Rome) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni dismisses Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s criticism of his stance on the rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Posted at 4:18pm. Updated at 4:18 p.m.
The far-right leader made the claims at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday local time.
On Friday, Mr Trudeau had told Ms Meloni that “Canada is concerned about some of Italy’s positions on LGBT people’s rights” and added that he wanted to raise the issue with her.
Ms Meloni then seemed annoyed, playing with her thumbs and listening in silence while Mr Trudeau summarized his remarks in French. The media then left the room, leaving the two leaders to chat.
Asked about it by a journalist on Sunday, the Italian Prime Minister said she was a “victim” of “fake news” and propaganda, arguing that Mr Trudeau’s perception “didn’t correspond to reality”.
In March, activists condemned Ms Meloni’s government’s actions to restrict parental rights to only a child’s biological parents, even for families with same-sex parents.
In addition, the Italian government asked the city of Milan to stop automatic registration of both parents in same-sex couples in the city’s registers – a decision that would affect hundreds of families.
It is the country’s latest major city to continue the practice briefly adopted in Rome, Turin, Naples and elsewhere after Italy’s Supreme Court eased the adoption of their partner’s biological child by same-sex couples in 2016.
In an official report from Prime Minister Trudeau’s office on the meeting, we can read that the two leaders “… […] shared their views on the importance of protecting and defending human rights, including the rights of 2ndLGBTQI+ people.”
With the Canadian Press