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EVEN BEYOND THE UK, Boris Johnson – who is now set to become next Prime Minister following his election as leader of the Conservative Party – is one of the best known British politicians.
From his turn as London’s larger-than-life mayor during the 2012 Olympics to his role as Foreign Secretary under Theresa May, Johnson is a well-known figure in Europe and further afield.
His election yesterday was immediately greeted by a volley of tweets from world leaders – from Donald Trump, who said he’d be “great”, to Jüri Ratas, the Prime Minister of Estonia.
The man who helped deliver Brexit, however, has often found himself at the centre of criticism and controversy over his off-the-cuff comments and bumbling-style diplomacy.
As Johnson prepares to receive the keys to Number 10 Downing Street, how has the world been viewing the prospect of a Johnson premiership?
US
US President Donald Trump has long been seen as a fan of Boris Johnson. Ahead of his state visit to the UK in June, Trump praised Johnson. “He’s been very nice. I have a very good relationship with him,” he told reporters.
The US media, in the days and weeks leading up to the results of the Tory party leadership election, have been producing long, detailed profiles of the man tipped to win the leadership contest since before it even began.
American interest in Johnson has potentially been driven by the shorthand characterisation of Johnson as a “British-Trump”. The New Yorker, which has long been critical of Trump, said Johnson’s “main talent” was to “make lies sound amusing”.
The New York Times, in a profile published on Monday, wrote:
In his pursuit to become prime minister, Mr. Johnson has adapted his old habits — the theatrics, the polysyllabic put-downs, the outlandish plans — for the Brexit era. Just as he used big-ticket ideas as London mayor to put a gloss on difficult circumstances, so he has tried to deflect from some of the complexities of Brexit, too.
The Atlantic called him “neither clown nor fraud, but a complex individual shaped and driven by a variety of factors”.
“He is about to enter a world in which speaking Greek matters little… in this world, of Trump and Xi, Merkel and Macron, Johnson cannot be on top internationally”, the magazine wrote.
In the Washington Post, in a piece published immediately following Johnson’s victory, columnist Anne Applebaum wrote:
The fact is that the Tory party has chosen Johnson not despitethe fact that he is an inventor of elaborate and untrue stories about the regulation of kippers, condoms, shrimp-cocktail-flavored potato chips and much else. They have chosen him because he is an inventor of elaborate and untrue stories. It is fiction, not fact, that they now want to hear.
Germany
Boris Johnson has never received the best reception in the German press.
Germany has often been a target of Johnson’s scorn – he once drew parallels between the EU and the aims of Hitler.
Former German Minister for Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble, once offered to send Johnson – during his tenure as Foreign Secretary – a copy of the Lisbon Treaty and teach him the rules of the EU.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the thought of a Johnson administration has received a frosty – and somewhat incredulous – reception in the German media.
German news magazine Der Spiegel portrayed Johnson, who has always prided himself on his cartoonish image, as a Mad-magazine-type character.
The magazine’s front cover pulled few punches: “Mad in England”, describing him as the man who incites the British against Europe.
“The man dreams of being able to walk over water at some point. But now he wants to be made prime minister,” the magazine wrote.
Another news magazine, Stern, led with the headline: “What?! What is going on with the UK?”
France
France does not have the best impression of the man who once apparently called them “turds” over the country’s Brexit position. Even in 2012, French journalists were focusing on his poor grasp of policy detail and lack of concrete legacies to show for his time as mayor.
One French magazine Libération might claim to have predicted Johnson’s ascension to power. The magazine greeted Brexit in 2016 with the words “Good Luck” – emblazoning Johnson on the cover, it suggested that the vote would make him prime minister.
Since then, Emmanuel Macron has never hid his dislike of Brexiteers who, like Johnson, have taken a “do or die” approach to the UK’s exit from the EU.
In March he wrote in a widely-published op-ed: “Ever since the second world war has Europe been so essential. Yet never has Europe been in such danger. Brexit stands as the symbol of that.”
For many French people, Boris is likewise the symbol of the worst impulses of Brexit. Le Monde, one of the country’s leading papers, ran a piece in June characterising Johnson as “a blunderer at the gates of power”.
A recent editorial criticised his “chauvinistic rhetoric” and said that, if elected, Johnson could “taint the international credibility of a country that claims to be the champion of the rule of law”.
Even the conservative Le Figaro portrayed Johnson as a man whose “ambition was strewn with controversy”.
The rest of the EU
Lithuanian EU Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis did little to hide his concerns in a blog post following Johnson’s election.
Comparing him to former Russian leader Boris Yeltsin, Andriukaitis criticised Johnson’s “many unrealistic promises, ignoring economic rationales and rational decisions”.
“I can only wish him luck in ‘taking back control’, spending more money on the NHS, swiftly concluding new trade agreements,” he wrote.
Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister, has become a key player in the Brexit saga. In June, he warned that the UK will become a “diminished country” regardless of the circumstances in which it leaves the EU.
One leading paper, de Volkskrant, echoed these sentiments, telling its readers: “Déjà vu is the word that EU diplomats and officials use most often when it comes to Johnson.”
Canada
Canada has been one of the targets of the UK for a free trade agreement. While the paths of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Johnson haven’t crossed much, the latter will be hoping he can salvage negotiations that have so far stalled.
One of Canada’s main papers, the Toronto Star, took a sceptical tone to its coverage of Johnson ahead of his election:
Blond, buoyant and buffoonish, the 55-year-old Johnson may be one of Britain’s most famous politicians, but in many ways he is a mystery.
“Johnson statements are best taken with a grain of salt,” the paper added.
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Keep taking in the migrants as if that’s the answer to Africa and the Middle East’s problems and watch wages fall and rent rise. Meanwhile Africa still gets rode by trade agreements and their own despots.
The left get to feel smug about internationalism and at the same time make sure Europe is completely transformed in a generation. Corporations get cheap and divided labour. Everyone else gets to be told they are racist and have to cough up.
Such an I’m all right jack attitude. It’s not about racism, it’s about a bit of human empathy. And not just leaving it to the Mediterranean countries to absorb the influx
If Europe took in a million migrants a year, excluding genuine asylum seekers it wouldn’t make a difference. These countries have growing populations and all of the push factors are still there despite your empathy.
eh but here’s the truth. I was always left wing. you’re wrong. the right introduced this policy. think who were in government when Maastricht nice and Lisbon were being voted on.
nail on head Jimmy Jim-Jim, nail on head. So this 10 point plan, correct me if I’m wrong, it was 287 but the government said they’d take 300. How nice of them but it states 5,000 now? Nevermind, you can be sure it will be well into 5 figures and rising. This is not going to stop it. News has already spread to the bogus that theres a way in now. Also, Merkel talking about dignity and respect. Straight away they’re not co-operating, why were they refusing fingerprints? Each EU state will not be bullied by the UN opinion, after all its their agenda not ours.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged countries “in Europe and elsewhere to prove their compassion and do much more to bring an end to the crisis”. – course you’d say that, its your agenda! what laws are they passing right now to force some of the EU states to let them all in? and what is Germany getting out of this by ‘making an example’ for the UN? 800,000 is an alarming figure for one country. That doesn’t mean we should all follow suit, we’re not Germany but unfortunately Enda is her favourite school boy and that is a big problem.
so what you’re saying is that you support massive fines for those who employ illegal workers, a strictly enforced minimum wage and a mechanism through which asylum seekers can work rather than being forced into an illegal labour market created by European employers?
How about the UN do something to stop the migrant crisis at it’s source? Ban Ki Moon seems to be very happy to sit back doing nothing while expecting Europe to solve everybody’s problems.
How about we do something and stop trying to pass the buck?
I’m all ears. what do you suggest?
What do you suggest the UN do? I’m all ears.
Militarily intervene, set up refugee camps in the region.
Simple stuff.
the UN give me a break
@ for connelly. ….the usual ” you are a racist!, you are a racist!” crap, can’t you change the record ( and answer the question of how many YOU would take)
bill , I don’t think he really wants to answer your question , maybe rephrase it or ask another one ?
what happened to the UN camps at source?
ummm… there are refugee camps in the region… the idea that camps are an answer is ludicrous. it’s like saying that housing is the only issue in homelessness.
these poor souls need to be helped. ..but in their own countries. how about the hypocrites at the UN who hate the west and blame us on all the worlds problem step up to the mark and help out? ….the silence from the rich Arabs, China etc is deafening. Europe is not a dumping ground for the worlds problems but it is becoming one due to pc nonsense and politicians with no other interest task pension chasing
may be the west could keep their nose out
or maybe the west could keep this lot out
you reap what you sew
exactly and that applies to you too
im sure you meant something deep and meaningful but I havnt the foggiest what youvarectalking about
exactly, the Arabs should be forced to take them, the UN are trying to force us. We had nothing to do with their conflicts. The cheek of them, its like something planned out… oh no wait, it was. So they’ve created conflict, provided the arms then dumped the people over here, nice, thanks! Since they’ve now gone in for the profits after flattening it, care to share that with those you’re expecting to house these people, or is that tied up with some of the 600 multi-nationals? These are pigs, and have done it before, expect they’re doing things differently now, albeit complex but not too complex for those right on it. This was planned for years. They’re tying up every angle, to control your data, your water, the people, reducing you to a low waged class, Ye can all fight about it amongst yourselves. Actually they ‘hope’ ye fight about it amongst yourselves so they can exercise control while they make hay behind your back.
yes.
not very difficult to join the dots with this one. Saudi Arabia, now where have you been hiding during all of this and what offers of such greatly increasing wealth (alongside their western cohorts) can you bring to ease such a crisis? I’m sure they’d offer us refuge as history shows us. Yeah, I think we’re all getting duped. Germany is leading, no doubt, no surprise.
Yeah, I don’t recall Ban Ki Moon appealing to South Korea.
Hitler tried to take over Europe by force, Merkel has taken over Europe without firing a bullet.
Ask the Jews who they prefer.
Germany is taking in 800k this year.
What will it be next year?
The end of the welfare state in Germany will be the main economic result, while society will fragment under the sheer numbers.
Don’t worry. The German’s will soon begin to ask* other EU countries to share the burden. *tell
Awesome scaremongering John.
Now where did you pull 800k from?
and then start moving a fair whack of their 800k on to surrounding countries after they’ve showed ‘look, everybody, this is the right thing’ pass a law, have a word with Frontex to relax. UN dictates over and over. Don’t think for a minute Germany plans to keep all of these 800k, this is a ploy. Keep yer doors shut Hungary and same for those that are not going to put up with this s***.
For the past few years, Germany has taken in over 40% of all asylum seekers entering the EU and have committed to taking 800,000 Syrian refugees this year. No other country has done more
Yet, posters on this site think it’s because of a hidden agenda?
Diarmuid, the 800,000 figure is from Germany’s Interior Minister: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/20/germany-raises-estimate-refugee-arrivals-800000
It was revised an original forecast of 350,000-400,000 made three months ago. So perhaps the final figure this year will go above 800,000.
For once I agree thoroughly with Merkel. Some of the commentary about migrants has been absolutely sickening, and utterly unhelpful. Italy hae been left to mop up the crisis as best they can, which they can ill afford, while the rest of us sneer from afar
I haven’t met anyone sneering it’s a dreadful crises. maybe if the west thought about some of their gunho attitudes it would help
Italy is just like a processing plant. They’ll move them along to the next idiot country that bows to Germany. This is a UN issue, they must deal with it in Syria and Libya not here. They have a ship ported there, I don’t see it coming under fire nor the surrounding area.
@Stephen Kavanagh – No one is sneering. However many of us are concerned at the implications being made, both here and further afield – that somehow,European countries are not entitled for their borders to be kept sovereign.
What’s the point of even posting these stories here? No one in the journal comment section sees immigrants as human beings. Nothing but racists.
Bam!! People from the west are expats, the rest are inherents
immigrants*
I remember a time when the famine was still fresh in our minds and we welcomed in refugees from kosovo etc… something has changed over these last 10/15 years we are greedy selfish b@stards who only care for ourselves…
Tell me Connolly how many people will you personally take into your house ?
I hate when people like you post a comment like that you automatically put people on the defensive. it’s wrong.
Mike are you willing to pay for everyone’s usc? No but I bet you wouldn’t mind seeing it cut.
Waycists.
Thank you for you moralizing stance from the Pulpit your grace.
why refuse to let yourself be fingerprinted ?
55 human beings dead and we worry about them taking our low paid jobs.
it’s called the race to the bottom. if you can’t see the effects caused over the past decade. you are blind and it is pointless to further discuss. I hope You can explain to you children and grandchildren why they haven’t a pot to pi$s in because there are many people suffering the effects of the ‘oh we can’t be seen to be racist’ sh $te. thats assuming youre lucky enough to have them living here.
Only bigoted right wing racists with no education worry about immigrants taking their jobs. If you worked hard and got a college degree would you really feel so threatened?
well I have 10years university education. I wasn’t v born here. my family are from all over the world. some of us have had the luck to experience many cultures.
Answer me Connolly , how many will YOU take into your house , just give us a number and make the rest of us feel guilty
Some of us don’t have the luck to experience other cultures because of ignorant closet racists which stop them from doing so.
How much money are you willing to personally pay to cancel Irelands past tax increases Mike?
Connolly you are a muppet , give us a number
Mike I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.
Not one Connolly , just like you
Maybe because it’s got absolutely nothing to do with addressing the problem?
bulls
hit
You are a fake Connolly
:)
oh and I’m definitely NOT right wing
yeah a lot has changed in 10 years, what was that? A lot more is going to change for everyone in 10 years from now. Enjoy your high expenditure and lack of services cos if the government can’t afford it now, what makes you think they will then? The only way is down with this. A huge bank debt and god knows what else thrown in our faces and now more of this. The only ones going to gain from this are the elite and you’re happy to let them win? This is not about humanitarian do good, they can resolve this at source. This is their latest chance to inflict a wallop to the middle class all the while telling you “you’ve done a good deed”. You should ask them to pay you for allowing this after all they will be paying themselves greatly out of it.
Stephen – people don’t have a problem with helping people out, but there’s no assurances coming from anyone that there’s any kind of plan or anything here. Governments can’t even agree on this, so lay off calling ordinary citizens names.
Mike nobody’s suggesting anybody take anybody into their own house. You’re just asking that question to be inflammatory
Not often I agree with FC, but he is correct here.
OOOPS – I agreed with the fake FC – I prefer him………….lol.
How about the spineless EU helps others help themselves. No? Most Europeans are too cowardly these days to even consider standing up for themselves, let alone the innocents of a foreign land.
Instead they prefer to further enlarge the largest welfare state on the planet.
@Stephen – I don’t think it’s the European citizens themselves to be fair Stephen. The average citizen is clearly against this, but it is communists like merkel and other EU elites (for want of a better label) who are pushing an agenda to overwhelm the system – in order to reboot it and create their new European communist union.
@the dude
To call Merkel a communist only shows either how completely clueless you are or how far to the right your political beliefs are. Take your pick!
@Matt – Merkel was secretary for ‘agitation and propaganda’ in the Freie Deutsche Jugend. Former Transport Minister, Krause of her role Said “With agitation and propaganda, you’re responsible for brainwashing in the sense of Marxism…that wasn’t cultural work…she was useful as a pastor’s daughter in terms of Marxist-Leninism. And she’s denying that But it’s the truth.” End of quote.
if you say anything bad about mass immigration and multiculturalism you are labelled as a racist. problem reaction solution, many of these migrants come from war torn areas. the same politicians and other high profile individual that backed bombing libya back to the stone age backed the wars of aggression in iraq syria and afganistan (all of which were based on lies) are now calling on countries in the west to commit cultural suicide and take those migrants in.
its divide and conquer.
something to consider why is multiculturalism only happening in white countries. think of what the demographics of those nations is going to be in 3 or 4 generations.
who could blame the migrants? most of them are only looking to make a better life for themselves, i would likely do the same. however they are being used as pawns in a game.
watch this i don’t agree with all of its points but it doe prompt a person to ask questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMfk5UeGw4E&list=PLJgDzB_Zc6TIjDFtr45cof3RiewSrVv4Q&index=2
I think the problem is that the popular definition of “racist” is “one who punishes people because of their race” when the actual term is “one who defines people according to race”. We call these people racist because they are racist in the second sense. Racists need to accept that they are racist in the second sense, and make their arguments as such.
@Colm
You may be surprised, but there is only one human race, at least biologically, everything else is a social concept based on skin colour and country of origin, so basically, absolute bollox
@John Fergus – In fairness, it’s hard to disagree with anything in that video.
@Larissa – it’s less about race and more about culture Larissa.
Angela Merkel – the €10,000,000,000 to process these guys for 2015 alone is not your personal money. It’s the German people’s money. And your incentivisation of dangerous migration is causing deaths, chaos & huge costs and anguish for other states inside and outside the EU. No one doubts that Syria is bedlam right now, but Europe is on the precipice of collapsing itself. Grexit, Brexit, debt, low growth. A lot of people are not ‘far-right’ lunatics for being concerned that this whole situation is completely out of control. We bought this integrationist stuff on the assumption that the external borders were to be strengthened, but obviously they’re a sham. EU is being shown up big-time as an absolute shambles.
and the German people voted for Merkel to run the country, on more than one occasion..
@Padraig
Because she did more for her country and her people in 10 Years than our homegrown FF/FG muppets and cronies have done in the last 50 years!
She is a proper leader unlike that half arsed weasel Kenny or that corrupt crony Ahern!
A true fuhrer.
These migrants are human beings and need to be treated as such, they are willing to risk there lives and take there chances on flimsy boats in the Mediterranean ocean to escape from war. They really don’t have a choice, but to get out of their country.
@ the EU is like a huge light or magnet attracting migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia, fear of strife may make them leave their homes, but it is not fear of war that draws them to the EU (once across the Turkish border the Syrian people are not really in mortal danger. similarly there is no real strife in wast areas of Africa.
Its not as if there is a particularly large war (eg Rwanda 20 years ago or Nigeria in the 80s) or the famine of Live Aid fame)
These people want a better life in Western Europe, Australia and North America and who can blame them as we would probably do the same in similar situations!!!
IMHO “we” in the west helped create the current problem (no I don’t particularly mean the US UK, French etc military) “you and me” the Jo/Josephines as we sat and watched our 24 hour rolling news as little Kuwait was invaded by Saddam Housein or that nasty despot Gaddafi was (as he has done before!) as had Aasads father before him at a cost of 50,000) putting down a rebellions.
Mothers and fathers holding up dead children make “great” TV but not great policy! so the cry goes up from “me and you” “WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING” and we do, remove Housein, Gadaffi etc (Aasad is taking longer) and a few short years later, after one cock up after another we are (I don’t say end up, because we are far from the end, particularly if Aasad goes there will be at least 3,000,000 more refugees on the road to, probably, the EU!!
Most of the belligerants in the Syrian civil war are Islamists/Salafists of some hue or other. Who’s to say a portion of the huge numbers pouring into Europe aren’t security threats – sponsored by any number of factions or governments in the mid-east. Who knew Islamification of the West could be so easy. Bin Laden would scarcely believe it himself.
The poor distraught people in war torn countries are not boarding dangerous boats to cross he Mediterranean, only those can afford the fare are the boats and the fare is a huge figure by comparison to us. While all the bleeding hearts are pumping away and politicians are preening themselves on their humanitarian concern, people traffickers are filling boats at huge profits and then calling The Italian Coastguard ( that probably costs a little more) or you can a few Bob less to risk your life below deck but it is not much cheaper. The fact that no government has gone after the criminal gangs, wreck their boats do anything to put the slime bags out of business says a lot. As them coming here for a better life, how much better would life be for our suck or elderly if we could afford to provide the treatment they really need?
@Teddy. – well done Teddy. Good comment.
Jaysus that merkel one one is a hateful looking c-unt!!!!
Would love to see Germany’s economy crash see how smart they are then
Very clever, Brendan if the German economy crashes then the European economy crashes then our economy crashes. You get the picture?
Merkel is a Nazi the belonged to a nazi youth group!
@John
Are you sure about that Nazi thing?
I mean considering that she was born in 1954…
Get out your old history school books and try again!
Lads, unless we stop all emigration from Ireland, and help the U.S. drag our “illegals” back here, we can’t really tell “them” to go back to their own country. It’s hypocritical.
What kind of world are we going to get? one where everyone can reasonably expect to live where they want, or one where we’re all siloed off into our little prisons called “countries”, with no one crossing borders apart from visits?
If you never meet “forriners”, it makes it that much easier to spread lies about them, and to kill them in war if your “country” demands.
Our emigrants in the U.S. place zero burden on the taxpayer. They don’t get housed, clothed and fed at taxpayers’ expense. Anyway, illegal immigration in the U.S. Is a matter for the authorities there.
Yeah, because an Irish person going to the States is the exact same as an Afghani/sub Sahara Muslim heading to Europe, slight cultural difference there. Why they are refusing to be fingerprinted, something to hide?
They’re going to try and plant thousands more here. Mark my words. And Enda will say : ‘Yes Ma’am, No Ma’am, three bags full Ma’am’. And useful idiots like you will get to feel great about yourself, while society at large goes to hell in a hand basket.
It’s called white genocide,but a lot of white people don’t get it.
Sure Germany has a great track record of dealing with different races !!!
At the moment it’s doing a damn sight better than the rest of Europe
A tragedy caused by the people traffickers and the stupidity of the open borders brigade. The Schengen agreement means no customs checks, and if they had happened perhaps these lives would have been saved.
Enda does what she says and she does what Obama tells her…
The E.U. is in trouble after the mess with China as all the austerity was brought in by Germany to look after its exports mainly to China, as Germany exports a lot to China.
So what will happen Germany will effect the Eurozone…
have your say