Mason: Can UK - French bromance help stop the boats?

Wandering onto the crunch of the courtyard gravel of the Elysee Palace successful Paris, the president and the premier curate shared smiles and a brolly.

It was the representation that said much than galore much words had sought to convey.

These leaders of akin property and akin inheritance intelligibly get on; that connection "bromance" is going to get a bully workout successful the constitute ups of the Franco-British summit.

To absorption connected the chemistry betwixt governmental leaders whitethorn consciousness superficial.

But relationships successful diplomacy truly matter, peculiarly erstwhile the opposition is truthful striking.

However throwaway oregon successful jest that remark whitethorn person been, it is intolerable not to announcement the opposition now.

Mr Sunak has enactment large store successful what helium sees arsenic restoring the UK arsenic an honorable broker and reliable state connected the satellite signifier aft the chaos of Ms Truss's little premiership and what mightiness beryllium mildly described arsenic the idiosyncrasies of Boris Johnson.

Mr Johnson and President Macron were a cardinal miles isolated connected Brexit.

But, remember, truthful are the president and Mr Sunak.

Mr Macron pointedly claimed the implications of the UK's departure from the European Union had been "underestimated" by immoderate of its advocates.

Mr Sunak was an aboriginal backer of Brexit.

But diplomats often bespeak privately that galore European leaders struggled to spot Mr Johnson arsenic premier minister.

Mr Sunak is moving hard to effort to guarantee that is nary longer the lawsuit present helium is successful the job.

His calculation is that it is simply a indispensable but not needfully capable attack to execute his governmental objectives, arsenic good arsenic protective, oregon possibly restorative, of the UK's estimation worldwide.

So, beyond the property stuff, let's instrumentality a look astatine precisely what has travel of this summit.

There were important discussions betwixt 2 allies astir Ukraine and China.

But the astir politically potent taxable for Mr Sunak was tiny vessel crossings.

For a antheral who has 5 governmental priorities, 1 of which is stopping the boats, doing thing to halt astatine slightest immoderate of them truly matters.

And astatine slightest immoderate of it volition not present thing rapidly - the caller detention centre volition beryllium years successful the making.

Downing Street deliberation the backing they had already allocated was bully worth for wealth with tangible benefits.

And truthful their logic is much could present more.

And that committedness is wide cut.

Why connected world would a governmental person shackle themselves to specified a stark committedness erstwhile this is simply a complex, international, diplomatically fraught, politically risky issue?

When I enactment this to 1 good placed minister, they said the calculation was immoderate caveating oregon diluting would person sounded pathetic, and they would alternatively their ambition beryllium wide cut, adjacent if the transportation falls short.

But determination is inactive a quality betwixt a sizeable simplification and nary simplification astatine all.

Or the numbers continuing to climb.

Mr Sunak repeatedly pointed retired to america astatine this acme that determination is "no 1 metallic bullet" arsenic helium puts it to resoluteness the contented of migrants crossing the Channel successful tiny boats.

But resoluteness it is what helium has promised to do.

And truthful the governmental jeopardy for the premier curate is simple: thing abbreviated of that volition beryllium seen by critics arsenic a transparent failure.

His governmental reputation, astatine slightest successful part, rests connected however good helium does.