Europe’s press waved goodbye to Boris Johnson as the Prime Minister resigned today, delighting in the downfall of a man who finally got Britain out of the EU.
‘Borexit’ was the headline in Germany’s biggest tabloid Bild, which spoke of Mr Johnson’s ’embarrassing semi-resignation’ on the steps of Downing Street.
The Irish Examiner bid farewell to ‘Eton’s greatest mess’, with columnist Suzanne Harrington comparing his fall to watching posh neighbours brawl in their garden, calling it: ‘Just so enjoyable… So deeply, satisfyingly pleasurable.’
Spain’s biggest newspaper, El Pais, compared Johnson’s fate to Trump – saying he is another ‘Western populist down the drain of history’ who ‘lost power without much honour.’ ‘His fall is a fair reflection of the UK’s endless political crisis,’ it added.
‘Europe says goodbye to Boris Johnson without tears or sorrow,’ was how rival newspaper El Mundo covered the story, calling Mr Johnson an ‘unscrupulous leader’ who ‘has left not a single friend or admirer’.
‘The premier has done nothing but accumulate firewood and light matches,’ it said.
Bild: Germany’s largest tabloid waved goodbye to Boris Johnson, as the Prime Minister who finalised Brexit resigned today
Ekstrabladet: Denmark’s main tabloid went with the simple headline: ‘Now he is done’
Irish Independent: Mr Johnson has ‘finally agreed to resign’, said the paper’s lead story, after a week of what it described as ‘political carnage’
Faced with accumulating scandals, a raft of resignations, and outright demands from his own cabinet to step aside, Mr Johnson defiantly clung to power through a day of extraordinary political drama yesterday.
But, come the dawn today with ministers continuing to abandon ship and talk of a ‘constitutional crisis’ in the air, the Prime Minister reluctantly fell on his sword – saying he was ‘sad to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.’
Pablo Suanzes, Brussels correspondent for one of Spain’s largest papers, was among the first to react – saying the Prime Minister ‘had cooked in his own broth.’
Recalling him as ‘marter, more dangerous and less trustworthy’ than predecessor Theresa May, Mr Suanzes sums up two years of the UK under Boris as ‘a collection of deceptions, lies, vagueness, delays, lies and provocations’.
‘In Brussels the reaction [to his resignation] is almost indifference,’ he says. ‘There is little guilty pleasure in the downfall, without honor, of an unscrupulous leader.
‘He has left not a single friend, a single admirer or almost a single supporter, for himself, but almost also for the United Kingdom.’
Reubblica, one of Italy’s largest outlets, describes Mr Johnson as a ‘modern King Lear… unable to distinguish between right and wrong.’
Mixing its Shakespearian references, it adds that he was ‘manipulated by his own Lady Macbeth, the power-hungry wife who eliminates one by one the councilors to become the involuntary accomplice in an inglorious end.’
His rise and fall ‘resembles a comedy of errors, to use another of the Bard’s titles.’
Boris, the paper concludes, ‘risks being remembered as one of the worst prime ministers.’
Italy’s other largest paper, Corriere della Sera, calls him ‘the child who wanted to be “King of the World”‘ who it says was brought down ‘by the clownish mask that he chooses to wear’.
El Mundo: One of Spain’s largest papers said ‘no one is going to cry’ for Mr Johnson’s departure in Brussels, describing him as an ‘unscrupulous leader’ who has left ‘not one admirer’
HLN: Belgium’s largest news site showed Mr Johnson being metaphorically taken out with the rubbish as he agreed to step down
Tagesspiegel: Berlin’s main newspaper described Mr Johnson as a ‘scandal noodle’, saying it is ‘no surprise’ to those who have followed his career closely that he is falling from power
An opportunist whose Brexit gamble took him all the way to Downing Street, Boris was brought down ‘not by his political choices, but by his character (or lack thereof).’
‘Boris has lost his job due to his calibrated personality, that clownish mask that he built since he was a boy and which expresses itself in a disordered and amoral personality… A serial traitor, a hardened liar…
‘On his political epitaph of him it can be written that he was a scoundrel of genius: whose genius was overwhelmed by his irremediable character.’
Boris has ‘finally agreed to resign’ wrote the Irish Independent, saying a ‘week of political carnage’ had left him with the support of ‘just 65’ out of his 360 MPs.
Several newspapers chose to trawl back through the list of scandals that have dogged Boris over the years, with Tagesspeigel referring to him as a ‘sandal noodle’ under the headline: ‘Sex, drugs and rock & roll’.
Recalling how Mr Johnson once admitted to smoking cannabis, it pointed out that he is ‘the first British leader on record to have broken the law’ after being fined over parties in Downing Street during lockdown.
Sweden’s Aftonbladet rounded up what they called ‘Bojo’s three years of scandals’ which they said included ‘lockdown breaches, luxury travel and mistresses’ money’.
Euro Integration: One of Ukraine’s main news sites lamented the fall of the man they called ‘immortal Boris’, noting fears that a new PM will be less supportive of their cause
But not everyone was so gleeful at his departure. Ukraine’s press – where Mr Johnson has earned a reputation as one of the staunchest defenders of the country’s liberty in the face of Russia’s invasion – were notably glum.
Less than 24 hours after running the headline ‘Immortal Boris’, Ukrainian newspaper Euro Integration was forced to report that he has agreed to step down.
‘Boris Johnson has been actively supporting Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion,’ the paper lamented.
‘He advocates providing Kiev with sufficient military aid to retake all territories occupied by Russian forces, and has also promised billions of pounds in financial support.
‘In addition, Johnson has been to Kyiv twice since the end of February and held talks with Volodymyr Zelensky.’
Calling Mr Johnson ‘probably the most popular foreign leader in Ukraine’, it outlined ‘fears that under a new prime minister, Britain could adjust its foreign course and limit support for Kyiv.’
