Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are forging a tight link
Less than three years ago Liz Truss, not yet British prime minister, could not decide whether Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, was a “friend or foe”. Her predecessor, Boris Johnson, mocked French diplomatic protest at AUKUS, a submarine deal that cut out France, with a flippant “Donnez-moi un break!” Today Britain and France have put such theatrical rivalry behind them. As Sir Keir Starmer, the current prime minister, and Mr Macron jointly take the lead on Europe’s effort to salvage support for Ukraine, the Franco-British tie seems more solid than it has for many years.
Gestures of mutual respect have replaced the cross-Channel trading of insults. In January Sir Keir treated Mr Macron to dinner at Chequers, his official country residence. Last November Mr Macron invited Sir Keir to attend Armistice Day commemorations in Paris, the first British prime minister to do so since Winston Churchill. Even before he became Labour’s leader, Sir Keir went to Paris to learn more about the French president. Mr Macron, says someone who knows the president well, judges Sir Keir to be “un decent guy”.
On paper, the two of them appear an improbable match. Sir Keir tends towards caution, discretion and short words, whereas Mr Macron favours abstract nouns and the smash-it-first theory of politics. On stage Sir Keir looks like the startled understudy; Mr Macron relishes playing the leading part. Sir Keir was formerly a casework-building public prosecutor; Mr Macron, a deal-driven investment banker.
Yet in fact they have a surprising amount in common. They are both pragmatic moderates who hail from the centre-left (Mr Macron was once a minister in a Socialist government). They both play football, and are loyal supporters: Sir Keir of Arsenal, Mr Macron of Olympique de Marseille. They both also play the piano and, when younger, trained at music schools: Sir Keir at the Guildhall in London, Mr Macron at the Conservatoire in Amiens.
Given the scale of the transatlantic crisis, the bond the pair are forging may not be enough. Britain and France, western Europe’s two nuclear powers, badly need allies behind their plan for Ukraine. Brexit-linked problems, such as fishing rights in the waters that separate the two countries, have not gone away. Tensions over how to deal with small-boat crossings could easily flare up.
But it is an arresting and encouraging start. A British official calls the co-operation “unprecedented”. Intelligence agents work well together. Diplomatic teams have even shared Trump-handling tips. “Macron has experience and agility; Starmer has longevity and staying power,” says Lord Peter Ricketts, a former British ambassador in Paris. “That’s a pretty powerful combination.” ■