The frontrunner to succeed Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, declined Thursday to answer a question about whether she considers French President Emmanuel Macron a "friend or enemy" of her country, saying only that she would judge him "based on his actions".

This came during an election rally yesterday, Thursday, organized by the Conservative Party in Norwich, southeast Britain, in which its main competitor in the race for Downing Street, former Economy Minister Rishi Sunak, also participated.

Truss, 47, is currently the foreign minister in the British caretaker government, and she aspires to win the keys to "10 Downing Street" to succeed Johnson, who resigned in July.

Truss must win the majority of the vote of the Conservative activists, numbering around 200,000, if she is to succeed Johnson as the leader of the Conservative Party, and thus as prime minister.

The Conservative Party elections are still underway and the results will be announced on the fifth of next September.

Although this election rally did not witness a direct confrontation between Truss and Sunak, it was an occasion to evaluate the performance of each of them, as the journalist who moderated the interview posed the same question to both candidates.

While Sunak was quick to answer the question with a decisive answer by saying that Macron is definitely for him a friend of Britain and not an enemy to it, Truss answer came vague, as she said that "the verdict in this case is still under deliberation," and her answer sparked laughter in the entire hall.

Sunak was quick to answer the question with a decisive answer by saying that Macron is definitely for him a friend of Britain (Reuters)

"If I become prime minister, I will judge him (Macron) based on his actions, not his words," she added, without explaining the reasons for her strong caution against the French president.

There are many contentious issues currently between France and Britain, especially those related to the management of files related to the post-Brexit era, starting with fisheries and ending with Northern Ireland.

Also, the two countries, which are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), adopted two different policies in their approach to the Russian war on Ukraine, while Johnson's position was very firm in the need to confront strongly Russian President Vladimir Putin, Macron's position came softer, as the Elysee master called for Maintaining a line of dialogue with the Kremlin.

During the same election rally, Truss was asked a few minutes later about her position on France regarding energy security in her country, where prices have risen dramatically, driven by the gas price hikes due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, and responded by saying that the British government should build new nuclear-powered thermal plants. , expressing regret that her country lost its leadership in this sector.

"If the choice is to rely either on France or on China, I choose France," she added.

The audience in the hall responded to her answer with applause as well.