Welcome to In Conversation, the regular podcast of InCompass.

Go to InCompass-Hevon Europe.com for free access to all our podcast to date.

This is Paul Adamson and I'm in conversation with Jeff Mead.

Jeff Mead spent his entire journalistic career for four decades in

the Press Association finishing as Europe editor when he retired five years ago. He's also known in

Brussels, of course, as the creative genius behind the annual press review. There's a humorist and

comic writer and performer. So I'm delighted to have you on the podcast, Jeff. Welcome.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Paul. Well, we're going to try and make this podcast,

you know, introduce a bit of levity maybe into a discussion, maybe, which some might think

is maybe not appropriate, but I think we should try and finish the year with a bit of a smile

on our faces. And 2020, for obvious reason,

been a hell of a year for everybody, with that exception. But let's try and just look back and look forward a bit as well from our perspective and try and see maybe a slightly

funnier side of world affairs. Even though it may seem a bit parochial to a non-British audience,

I think we should ease ourselves in this conversation by talking about Boris Johnson.

He's an old journalistic friend of yours from the 80s and 90s, so you're doing pretty well

as well.

As we all know, he wanted to be king of the world.

He got to be British Prime Minister.

So a year-on since the general election in the UK this time last year, how do you rate him as a Prime Minister and also as a performer?

It's really hard because it's so easy to say that everything's been chaotic and a disaster.

Let's say for a start, fair people will always say this about Boris Johnson.

No one could wish the unforeseen pandemic upon anyone leading a country.

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