New PM, old problems: Mark Carney faces rough road ahead

For most of his adult life, Mark Carney has thrived in a world where facts matter and logical arguments can suffice.

- Leyland Cecco

But Canada's prime minister, who until last month had never held elected office, now enters a domain in which personal slights, ambition and ego often hold more sway than truth or reason. And Carney, who dealt with politicians, some hostile, as a central banker, has now become one, occupying a role in which he's all but guaranteed to disappoint someone.

On 28 April, Carney led Canada's Liberal party to a victory that only months ago few would have thought possible. Running as the candidate best equipped to defend Canada's sovereignty against Donald Trump, he emerged with a minority government.

After a congratulatory phone call last week, Donald Trump predicted “we're going to have a great relationship”. Notably, he did not refer to Carney as “governor” - a slight he appeared to have reserved for the former leader Justin Trudeau. This week the pair were due to have their first in-person encounter in Washington in Carney's role as prime minister.

Carney used his first post-election press conference to again quash the idea of Canada becoming the 51st US state, a proposal repeatedly floated by Trump. Standing up to the erratic US president will be a key task for Carney, but experts say his economic challenges might prove far more testing.