Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to the outgoing Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, and has promised that Australia will work closely with his replacement.
“I wish Boris the best. It’s a reminder of how tough politics can be,” he told Seven Network’s Sunrise program.
Albanese and Johnson met at the NATO security summit in Madrid last week, for the first time since last year’s election.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a bilateral meeting, during Albanese’s trip to the NATO leaders’ summit in Madrid, Spain, last week. Credit: Alex Elinghausen
“We will work with whoever is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after going through this process. Our relationship is not just one between individuals, although this is important and it was important that I met Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. .
“We had a good talk on a number of issues, on cooperation, especially in the field of defense. Boris Johnson was very advanced and understood that Russia’s attack on Ukraine was a rules-based attack on order and had implications not only for Europe, but for the whole world.
“Obviously we are from different sides of politics, but what is important is that the leaders of Australia get along with the leaders of the UK.
He noted that he had also met with UK Secretary of State Liz Truss at the NATO summit, and identified her as “one of the candidates for prime minister. We have also gotten along well, so I’m just waiting for the result.
“And then, whoever is successful, I will call them to congratulate them. And I look forward to meeting them for a while. ”
He hoped the South Sydney shirt he gave Johnson would help him in difficult times.
“A South Sydney shirt will usually make you tougher and make you last much longer. And we’ve certainly been through some tough times. And Boris has been through a tough time right now. So the South Sydney shirt, it will certainly continue to be put to good use. “