The race between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss for Conservative leader draws to a close
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)French and Irish ministers have said they are hoping for a “new start” in relations with the UK Government when the next Prime Minister is announced on Monday.
France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said she would like relations to improve after the announcement is made. Liz Truss is tipped to beat former Chancellor Rishi Sunak to become Britain’s next leader
“If it is her, let’s hope it is a new start”, Ms Colonna told RTL radio.
The new prime minister will be declared at 12.30pm following a lengthy selection process by Conservative Party members, which started after Boris Johnson was forced into resigning at the beginning of July.
During the leadership contest MsTruss stated the “jury was still out” after being asked if French president Emmanuel Macron was a “friend or foe” of Britain.
Relations between Paris and London have been severely tested after Brexit, with ministers clashing on migration and fishing rights.
Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney also said he hopes "the direction of travel" of British-Irish relations can be changed under a new Prime Minister.
He said he was with Irish premier Micheal Martin in Oxford at the weekend to meet British ministers, and "everyone was talking about what a Liz Truss premiership would look like".
Speaking on RTE Morning Ireland, he said: "Whether the strident way in which she has brought forward the Northern Ireland Protocol legislation in the UK, which, of course, has created a lot of tension and undermined trust, whether that will continue to be her strategy as prime minister or not."
The continuing fight over controversial plans to rewrite the Northern Ireland protocol is expected to be one of the first major obstacles to face the new Prime Minister.
Mr Coveney described Ms Truss as a "talented, very energetic politician".
He added: "We will work with her and her team, but I hope we can change the direction of travel for British-Irish relations that we've seen over the last couple of years, which really has been one of tension and standoff on very important issues - predominantly related to Northern Ireland.”
