Truss and Sunak clash over whether Macron is ‘friend or foe’

Truss’s remarks at hustings criticised for adding ‘further tensions to Anglo-French relationship’

Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership hustings
Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership hustings in Norwich
(Image credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss said the “jury is out” on whether Emmanuel Macron is a “friend or foe” during the penultimate hustings event, which took place in Norwich on Thursday.

TalkTV’s Julia Hartley-Brewer asked Truss the question directly during a quick-fire round, with the foreign secretary’s “scathing” response – as The Express described it – receiving a round of applause. “But,” Truss added, over the clapping, “if I become PM, I’ll hold him to deeds, not words.”

Earlier in the evening, Truss’s rival, former chancellor Rishi Sunak, had described the French president as a “friend”. Last month, The Spectator’s Gavin Mortimer had predicted that Anglo-French relations could improve with Sunak in No. 10, describing them as “similar in many ways beyond their background in finance; presentable and polished but, so say their detractors, ideologically shallow”.

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Truss’s divisive comments at the Norwich hustings were criticised for adding “further tensions to the stormy Anglo-French relationship”, said Politico, pointing out that links between the two countries have deteriorated “badly” since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016.

Labour “pounced” on Truss’s “diplomatic faux pas”, added Politico. “Liz Truss using the last weeks of her leadership campaign to insult the president of one of Britain’s closest allies shows a woeful lack of judgement,” said Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Twitter.

Former foreign minister Alistair Burt tweeted that the strong favourite to become PM had made a “desperately serious error” and should “take back” her comments.

Relations between the UK and France have soured in recent years as a result of Brexit, clashes over migrant boat crossings in the Channel and the controversial Aukus security alliance between the UK, US and Australia – described by Paris as a “stab in the back”.

Although many of the 175,000-strong Conservative membership are likely to have submitted their decision already, Truss and Sunak are still “vying for any final votes”, said the i news site.

The final hustings will take place in London on 31 August, with the vote closing two days later, on 2 September. The new Tory party leader and Boris Johnson’s successor will be announced on 5 September.

Kate Samuelson is The Week's former newsletter editor. She was also a regular guest on award-winning podcast The Week Unwrapped. Kate's career as a journalist began on the MailOnline graduate training scheme, which involved stints as a reporter at the South West News Service's office in Cambridge and the Liverpool Echo. She moved from MailOnline to Time magazine's satellite office in London, where she covered current affairs and culture for both the print mag and website. Before joining The Week, Kate worked at ActionAid UK, where she led the planning and delivery of all content gathering trips, from Bangladesh to Brazil. She is passionate about women's rights and using her skills as a journalist to highlight underrepresented communities. Alongside her staff roles, Kate has written for various magazines and newspapers including Stylist, Metro.co.uk, The Guardian and the i news site. She is also the founder and editor of Cheapskate London, an award-winning weekly newsletter that curates the best free events with the aim of making the capital more accessible.