Why Macron changed his tune on Boris

What was Emmanuel Macron playing at when he threatened to veto a second EU Brexit extension in October? Few would contest he was attempting to pressure British MPs to vote through Boris Johnson’s newly negotiated withdrawal agreement. He failed. But it’s also worth asking another question: why did Macron stick his neck out for Boris Johnson, a man he previously branded a ‘liar’ before he entered Number 10?

Was it that ‘foot on the table’ Elysée meeting of minds (22 August) or the numerous all-hours phone calls and the 24-26 October Biarritz G7 summit that persuaded Macron to declare on 18 October that Johnson was ‘a leader with genuine strategic vision’ who should be taken seriously?

Or was it that Macron’s motivation was to get Brexit off the EU agenda to begin at last implementing his reforms for European institutions? This would make sense, given that he is the first French president since Mitterrand to make the ‘European project’ a cornerstone of his foreign and domestic policy.