Philip Sime
‘From Cool Britannia to Poor Britannia’: Europe’s press ridicules Theresa May
The people with whom Theresa May will soon be negotiating over Brexit have been looking on in astonishment at her self-immolation. Here's a selection of the media coverage on the continent.
France
Against all the odds, France’s new President, Emmanuel Macron, looks set to win an impressive majority in the upcoming parliamentary elections. So from chaos to stability – yet Britain has taken the reverse journey.
This juxtaposition is detected by France’s press. Le Monde seeks to predict how the new formation of the House of Commons will impact the upcoming Brexit negotiations. The centre-left newspaper suggests that Theresa May’s government will be held hostage by the ‘ultra-conservative’ and ‘Europhobic’ DUP and its ‘dubious financial practices’. This precarious arrangement will destabilise Northern Ireland, the paper says, as the UK Government will no longer be viewed as an impartial actor in the peace process. Le Monde suggests that Theresa May’s minority government will also be held hostage by the Conservative Party’s Brexiteers who, it is thought, will force the Prime Minister to pursue the hardest of Brexits.
EU is united, UK is deeply split. PM May wanted stability but brought chaos to her country instead. #ge2017 #Brexit
— Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) June 9, 2017
The liberal, pro-business publication, L'Opinion, draws comparisons between the ‘astonishing unity’ of 27 EU member states, who have unanimously adopted a negotiating position and the UK which, almost a year after the Brexit vote, has failed to determine a strategy. Reflecting on Britain’s new political reality, Libération suggests that the future of the UK ‘became a little darker on Thursday’.
[caption id="attachment_9874692" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Image: Jos Collignon/Caglecartoons[/caption]
Germany
Although there may have been some schadenfreude in Europe when Theresa May’s electoral gamble backfired, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung warns that there is ‘no reason to cheer’. The newspaper suggests that the lack of a large Commons majority means that the UK Government will struggle to make concessions during the negotiation.
British voters are branded as ‘highly insecure, angry, upset’ and the country described as ‘torn and threatened by Islamic terror’. In light of this, the newspaper says the country desperately needs a ‘strong, determined government’, which now seems very unlikely.
Nevertheless, the liberal daily goes on to paint a more optimistic picture, suggesting that the possibility of a transitional agreement between the UK and the EU will “increase with time pressure”. This would mean that the four freedoms of the single market would remain in force for the foreseeable future, thus preventing what has been termed ‘cliff-edge Brexit’.
The German tabloid, Bild, is less optimistic. It suggests that a future outside the EU is becoming ‘increasingly unattractive’ as London comes to terms with the ‘madman’ which is now at the helm of the UK’s closest ally.
The paper suggests that Margaret Thatcher ‘would have put her handbag on the table in Brussels until there is a tailor-made deal for the UK’. However, such a vision is described by the newspaper as ‘just beautiful memories’. ‘From Cool Britannia to Poor Britannia’, the newspaper says the UK has become a country that is ‘stumbling over its own decisions’.
Meanwhile, Germany’s socialist candidate for the chancellery has congratulated Jeremy Corbyn on his electoral performance.
What a race! Congratulations to @jeremycorbyn and @UKLabour!
— Martin Schulz (@MartinSchulz) June 9, 2017
Just talked to Jeremy Corbyn on the phone. We agreed to meet very soon.
— Martin Schulz (@MartinSchulz) June 9, 2017
[caption id="attachment_9874702" align="aligncenter" width="568"] Image: Tom Janssen/Caglecartoons[/caption]
Norway
Norway is a non-EU nation which has secured tariff-free access to the EU single market through the European Economic Area. It is often cited by Scottish nationalists as a model on which an independent Scotland would be based.
Aftenposten’s Per Edgar Kokkvold suggests that the British Union is now more secure thanks to the new seats secured by the Scottish Conservatives under the leadership of ‘charismatic’ Ruth Davidson.
So someone in Britain is doing something right. But as for Theresa May, the woman who asked Brits to give her a bigger mandate the better to sock it to her opponents? As today's papers show, she is already a figure of ridicule on the continent.