Johnson sets sights on No.10
The former mayor of London and former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson has confirmed that he wants to run for the office of prime minister after Theresa May's expected resignation. Europe's media receive the news with mixed feelings.
Please don't bring on the clown!
The Frankfurt Zeitung shudders at the prospect of Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minster:
“First the demolition man in the White House, now a political clown - if it really comes to this, then at least we'd be a little closer to answering the question of why the West is falling into decline. In a time when we really need politicians with a sense of responsibility, people are opting for gamblers. And charlatans who are utterly indifferent to the fate of the people. For the EU this means: Boris Johnson would be a man who would celebrate a no-deal Brexit as a heroic act.”
Only Mr Brexit can save the Tories
Boris Johnson is just the man the Tories need, the Irish Independent sticks its neck out to argue:
“One common reservation against Boris is personal - that he has a reputation for being fickle or vain or untrustworthy. Politicians who brief against these qualities are like sharks complaining about teeth: they are intrinsic to the entire species. What's unusual about Boris is that he leavens the natural nastiness of politics with humour and a classical education. ... At this stage in its terminal decline, the Conservative Party cannot waste time reaching out to Cambridge or Brighton; it should be scrambling to hold on to Plymouth or Morley and Outwood. Electoral survival depends on reuniting the national pro-Brexit constituency, and Boris is Mr Brexit.”
Risk of chaotic Brexit increases, with or without Johnson
It is unlikely that Johnson will become the next British prime minister, states De Telegraaf:
“Johnson is undoubtedly the most prominent candidate and the favourite in the polls. If he becomes the next party leader, it will take the wind out of the sails of Nigel Farage's fast-growing Brexit Party. The problem with Johnson, however, is that he is much more popular with Conservative voters than with his Tory colleagues. But it is his Tory colleagues who decide which two Conservatives should run for prime minister. This is why there are a number of other Conservative candidates who could win out in the end. ... The likelihood of a no-deal Brexit would increase with almost all of them. They will all push for talks about a new deal. The Tories think that after the EU elections there will be a new wind blowing in Brussels.”