Liz Truss refused to say if Emmanuel Macron is a “friend or foe” during the penultimate leadership hustings which also saw her take aim at “extremely boring” Keir Starmer.
The foreign secretary did not pull any punches when faced with quick-fire questions from TalkTV host Julia Hartley-Brewer at the event in Norwich.
Asked if the French President and leader of the UK’s closest neighbour, Emmanuel Macron, was a “friend or foe”, she replied: “The jury is out.”
Politics live: Sunak and Truss go head-to-head in penultimate hustings
She added: “If I become prime minister, I will judge him on deeds, not words.”
The relationship between the UK and France has suffered since Brexit, with the two sides rowing on issues such as fishing and migration.
When asked the same question, leadership rival Rishi Sunak replied instantly that President Macron was a “friend”.
French President Emmanuel Macron
He has previously said he wants to reset the UK’s relationship with Europe if he wins the race to succeed Mr Johnson.
During the quick-fire questions round, both candidates were asked if they would rather be stuck in a lift with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon or Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Sunak quipped that he would “rather take the stairs” – leading to a large round of laughter from the audience.
Ms Truss said she would pick Nicola Sturgeon so she can “persuade her to stop being a separatist by the time we got to the ground floor”.
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‘Rather take stairs’ than be stuck in lift with Starmer
It comes after the foreign secretary suggested she will “ignore” the Scottish leader over her wish for another independence referendum and called her an “attention seeker”.
It led to a war of words with Ms Sturgeon hitting back that Ms Truss asked her how she could get into Vogue when they met briefly last year.
After giving her answer, Ms Truss could not resist making a dig at the Labour leader, saying: “Frankly, being stuck in a lift with Keir Starmer would be extremely boring.”
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The opposition leader has previously been forced to defend himself against accusations he is too boring to be prime minister, saying “the only thing that is boring is being in opposition”.
Ms Truss also said Boris Johnson would be a better prime minister than Rishi Sunak after her leadership rival said he would prefer to see her in No 10 than the outgoing PM.
Ms Truss is widely expected to win the leadership contest when the result is announced on 5 September.
Mr Sunak said today that he will not leave politics if he is defeated while insistingthere was still “everything left to play for”.
Truss vows help with energy bills
It comes as energy regulator Ofgem is expected to announce on Friday that the price cap will rise from £1,971 to about £3,500 – significantly more than previously forecast.
The rise, which will take effect from 1 October, is likely to pile even more pressure on the leadership contenders to do more to help with the cost of living crisis – a dividing issue in the race to succeed Mr Johnson.
Mr Sunak has said he will offer direct support to households struggling to pay their bills – though he is yet to put a figure on how much further he is willing to go.
Ms Truss has repeatedly said she favours tax cuts over handouts, leading to criticism her plans will benefit higher earners over people on low incomes.
However, in her clearest indication yet that she is willing to go further, Ms Truss said on Thursday night that she would use an emergency budget next month to “ensure support is on its way to get through these tough times”.
Writing in the Daily Mail she said: “If I am elected leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, I will take decisive action on entering No 10 to provide immediate support, but will also tackle the root causes of these issues so we are never again in this difficult position.”
And according to The Times, the frontrunner is said to have held talks with allies this week about a significant package of support, having now accepted that the energy crisis will be the defining issue of her premiership if she wins the leadership race.