It's set to be the most acrimonious world summit in years, with President Donald Trump facing off against six other leaders in need of a standard-bearer. If Justin Trudeau is looking for a chance at redemption, this is it.
With the world on the brink of a trade war, the stakes are high for when the Group of Seven meet in Canada with the symbol of postwar collaboration under threat by an aggressive strain of American unilateralism that's ripped up international agreements and undermined multilateral institutions.
Enter Trudeau, the photogenic prime minister whose brand of “progressive” trade has fallen flat amid foreign flops that wounded his image. In private conversations, some G-7 officials express reservations about the 46-year-old. They may have little choice than to embrace him.
As host, he's in the spotlight to somehow salvage a summit pitting irate Europeans against Trump with Japan's Shinzo Abe falling in the middle. France and Germany are warning they won't bow to Trump just to show unity, while many wonder if the U.S. president will leave early.
