World leaders and diplomats are surely squarring off for their own important diplomatic showdowns at the upcoming St. Peter’s Square funeral. World leaders—presidents, prime ministers, princes and monarchs—will gather to pay their respects. This event promises to offer a unique platform for informal discussions on pressing global issues, with many leaders poised to engage in “brush-by” diplomacy as they await the commencement of the service.
The stickiest moment will be as the audience take their seats. Americans will head to their place, which are ordered alphabetically by country. This creative seating arrangement will put leaders right next to each other, encouraging impromptu conversations. Should the invitations all be accepted, the funeral service would assemble potentially one of the largest gatherings of global heads of state since the late Queen’s funeral in 2022. In many ways, this event represented a sea change in international relations.
Geoff Berridge, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Leicester University, explained the importance of these meetings. He mentioned that working funerals are of great interest to leaders who want to speak to their bilateral counterpart on issues that concern them in an informal way.
“But will there be opportunities for brush-bys? Absolutely.” – one European diplomat
Together, this convening has amazing potential! This suggests former President Donald Trump would find opposition, even hostility, should he meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Their last in-person meeting was during a frosty Oval Office confrontation in February. For Zelensky, Rome’s allure is hard to resist and he is keen to meet again. Closer to home, both leaders are likely to be questioned on the prospects of a ceasefire in Ukraine, an important question to ask even as the war rages.
Trump, for one, has already announced that he has at least 15 meetings already lined up for the event. He’s provided few details about his expected appearances. Hopefully, the atmosphere will be set up to allow for serendipitous discussions as leaders make their way through the ceremonial proceedings.
“It’s a funeral. We are treading carefully,” – another official
The gathering carries echoes of past events. The then Prince of Wales had an unusual experience at the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005. …or even the handshake with Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe that gave a stunning example of how coincidence can create strong diplomatic magic.
Francis Campbell, the British ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 to 2011, expressed this view. He particularly focused on how celebrants pass signs of peace to each other during the funeral Mass. This interaction would force leaders to engage with the people they’d most like to avoid.
“We do not want to be disrespectful to our hosts,” – one European diplomat
As excitement grows for this incredible gathering, all eyes will be watching to see how world leaders interact with one another. Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping are both said to be skipping this upcoming G20. This lack of in person key figures may redirect the emphasis of conversations from Western leaders on closer international coordination.
The absence of dignified displays of grief exchanged between statesmen is striking. An unnamed former leader remarked on the public perception of these moments, stating that “dignified grief goes down very well with the voters, especially when it is shared by the world’s statesmen.”
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