Power Play POLITICO Europe

Election fever is gripping both sides of the North Atlantic. As Britain heads into the final weeks of a long election campaign, French voters face a snap parliamentary election. The Biden-Trump race for the White House draws ever closer. One man who knows about how to run a campaign is Jim Messina — known in Washington as "the fixer."
Messina is the mastermind behind President Obama's re-election campaign in 2012 and David Cameron's surprise victory for Britain's Conservatives in 2015. In this week's edition, host Anne McElvoy asks him what advice he would give to President Biden as he prepares for the first televised debate with Donald Trump next week — and to Rishi Sunak, who's leading the Conservatives to what may be an historic defeat in the U.K.
Messina says parties on both sides of the pond need to "shut up and listen to voters" about their concerns on immigration and the economy. "Voters are so much smarter than anyone gives them credit for," he tells McElvoy. "If you have bad ingredients, you're not gonna make a perfect cake," he adds — saying that a disciplined campaign can only achieve so much.

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It takes a brave — some may say reckless — leader to call a general election when trailing in the polls by 20 percent.
With three weeks to go to polling day on July 4, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s gamble looks like it will backfire, possibly spectacularly so, with perilous consequences for the country's oldest political party, the Conservatives. For one of the most powerful members of his Cabinet, the Chancellor — Britain's top finance minister — Jeremy Hunt, it means a fight for his political life.
Host Anne McElvoy joins him on the campaign trail in his Surrey constituency, a place which used to be rock solid territory for the Conservatives. Hunt concedes that voters feel "battered" by the cost of living crisis and "quite understandably hold the guys at the top to account."
Anne is also joined by POLITICO's deputy U.K. editor Rosa Prince for her reflections on the state of the campaign and Hunt's warning that a vote for Nigel Farage's Reform UK party could mean an "even bigger majority for Labour."

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The conviction of Donald Trump in a criminal trial in New York has electrified the race for the White House. But will it make a difference to how the arguments will play out in the campaign — especially on what the contest means for the rest of the world?
K.T. McFarland is a leading supporter of Trump’s campaign, a MAGA Republican who served as his deputy national security adviser. She’s an influential voice on defense and foreign policy in Republican circles. Host Anne McElvoy talks to McFarland about how she thinks Trump could resolve the war in Ukraine and his plans to bring Putin's regime to its knees by weaponizing the price of oil.
A veteran of the first Reagan administration, McFarland reflects on the former president’s legacy 20 years after his death and the state of the Atlantic alliance 80 years on since the D-Day landings in Normandy.

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Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, host Anne McElvoy asks Jane Hartley, United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, about the future of the transatlantic "special relationship."
Hartley discussed the future of U.S.-U.K. relations in light of the International Criminal Court seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; revealed her surprise at the snap U.K. election called for July 4; and as a close ally of President Biden, explains why his age is an asset, not a problem. 

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Host Anne McElvoy talks to Leonid Volkov, who was Alexei Navalny's long-serving chief of staff and campaign manager, about his mission to provide a democratic alternative to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime in the Kremlin. They spoke on the stage at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit.
The sudden death of Navalny, the most prominent opposition leader in Russia, sent shockwaves around the world earlier this year. He died in suspicious circumstances while being held in an arctic prison colony. Many campaigners, including his widow and closest associates, will not rest until they get answers about what happened.

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This week's edition of Power Play comes from the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, where host Anne McElvoy talks to President Zelenskyy’s closest aide, Andriy Yermak, and former NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. 
As Russian forces advance on Kharkiv, delays in weapons deliveries from the U.S. and Europe are proving costly. Now the war has reached a critical moment for Zelenskyy's leadership — and Ukraine. 
They discuss its ability to withstand Russia's biggest attack yet, a new plan to accelerate NATO membership — and whether security guarantees from the West can bolster the embattled country's future security. 

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