Gabriel Radonich

In these fractious times, a public compliment from the President of the United States can be a mixed blessing for a British politician. On the one hand, Boris Johnson must be delighted to hear the leader of the free world dub him “exactly what the U.K. has been looking for”, especially after the relentless criticism that Donald Trump showered upon his predecessor. On the other hand though, an endorsement from the president also has the potential to embarrass a PM who has long battled his critics’ characterisation of him as a ‘mini-Trump’. For someone who styles himself as a standard-bearer for liberal conservatism and has spoken of delivering a ‘global Brexit’, comparisons to the proudly nationalist Trump are unwanted.

This week has seen the continually bizarre spectacle of the Tory leadership contest grind on. Earlier this week Sajid Javid pitched himself as the candidate best placed to 'make a better Boris', reflecting the strange reality of a contest in which only one of the candidates really believes they can win. But who is Boris Johnson, really? The man who looks almost certain to be our next prime minister seems to divide opinion like no one else in British politics. Is he a charismatic man of the people, or a phoney demagogue? A progressive liberal or a Brexit extremist covering for the far right? In this week’s magazine, Toby Young argues that Boris’ opponents are so blinded by their dislike of him, they’ve completely lost sight of who he actually is.

While Friday may mean the end of the working week for most of us, for many in France, it means the start of a long weekend out in the streets clad in a gilet jaune. As Emmanuel Macron pushes for a tough stance against the UK in Brexit negotiations in Brussels, domestic problems continue to mount unabated. Jonathan Miller writes in this week’s cover piece that, despite initial optimism about the golden boy of global liberalism, Macron’s only major achievement so far has been to unite his country in opposition to him. He is joined on the podcast by Sophie Pedder, Paris Bureau Chief for the Economist, and author of Revolution Française, a biography of Macron.