Coveney not far ahead of Johnson in diplomatic race around Europe

Tánaiste Simon Coveney and British prime minister Boris Johnson have begun the latest final stretch in the Brexit diplomatic marathon as the pair rather aptly flying off in completely different directions.

EU membership clutched by one, the latest unicorn proposal by another, the political heavyweights began their Brexit pitches in Denmark and Berlin with the sole intention of pressing home their opposing positions.

Over the coming days, the glad-handing and photo opportunities with other EU leaders seen in Copenhagen will be repeated by Mr Coveney as he seeks to shore up support in the Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, and France.

A noticeably cooler reception will face Mr Johnson when he follows up his meeting with Angela Merkel with a visit to French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday before travelling to the G7 summit at the weekend.

However, while it might look like the Tánaiste has a clear lead in the diplomatic race, it should not be misunderstood that the race - or to be more accurate, races - are far closer than people realise, a fact underlined by the need for his sudden EU tour in the first place.

For Mr Coveney, the message is simple: the backstop and the existing withdrawal agreement are essential to finding a Brexit solution and cannot be avoided unless coherent alternative arrangements are put forward.

This point will be underlined in Copenhagen on tonight, and repeated ad nauseam in Prague, Warsaw, Helsinki, and Paris over the coming weeks alongside willing EU allies, just in case people have been hard of hearing for the past two years.

However, for Mr Johnson, the plan surrounding his continental trip is slightly more complex.

The first part is easy: make outlandish demands such as the latest "leaked" suggestion that Ireland could de-align with EU rules to help Britain for an unspecified period of time.

Such comments have the hoped-for surface effect of further undermining the backstop and attempting to isolate Ireland by making Dublin - and not London - look like the diplomatic problem child.

But while Mr Johnson would no doubt be happy if the EU accepts his vague and unrealistic backstop alternatives, in truth they are far more about a domestic audience.

If, as expected, the latest British suggestion is rubbished by a united EU front over the coming days, Mr Johnson is likely to try to blame Brussels for failing to be flexible or to consider any other options.

And while doing so may fly in the face of any logic, it will help to boost his domestic voter base before a potential snap autumn British election - a situation close Brexit watchers increasingly believe is Mr Johnson's real intent.

The Tánaiste and prime minister might be in the same physical Brexit race around Europe - but they would appear to have very different finishing lines in mind.