A positive meeting could benefit Wales

IT IS difficult to imagine two politicians whose styles contrast quite so much as Boris Johnson and Mark Drakeford.

The first is a showman who bases his appeal on behaving as an entertainer and a celebrity, while the second is more of an academic than a politician, regarding the need to project an image as something of an embarrassment.

The weekend polls indicated there had been some kind of “Boris bounce”, although it was quickly pointed out that Mr Johnson’s bounce was not as great as Theresa May’s had been when she became Prime Minister in 2016.

However, when yesterday’s Welsh Political Barometer poll is added to the mix, there is little doubt that, for the moment at least, Mr Johnson has more than Mr Drakeford to be happy about.

The Conservatives have a lead

over Labour so far as voting intentions for a general election are concerned. And in an election to the Senedd, Labour is behind Plaid Cymru when it comes to votes and possibly on course to be out of government for the first time since the National Assembly came into being 20 years ago.

Mr Johnson will know before he meets Mr Drakeford that the pair are miles apart on Brexit. He will also be aware that the First Minister is likely to ask him about the Shared Prosperity Fund, which is meant to replace EU aid money, but about which virtually no details have been released beyond a hint that the UK Government will want to control where the money is spent – something that could lead to a constitutional crisis as it would be seen by the Welsh Government as usurping the terms of the devolution settlement.

Everyone knows that the current deadlock over Brexit will have to be resolved in the next three months, and that Mr Johnson and Mr Drakeford will be on opposing sides when the crunch comes.

Any discussions they have today could quickly become academic.

If Mr Johnson wins, Mr Drakeford will be left with the unenviable role of having to make the best out of a situation where the Welsh economy stands to be badly damaged. The Welsh Labour leader could find himself out of a job in May 2021.

If Mr Johnson loses, his departure would come a lot sooner.

Neither of the leaders who meet today can be confident about Wales’ future or their own.

It would be good if something positive came out of their meeting, but we won’t be holding our breath.