GOING by the reaction of the press and media across the EU, Brexit is a done deal and everyone should just get on with it.
France 24 said Johnson’s win was “an emphatic victory for getting on with Brexit” while La Repubblica in Italy ran a picture of Boris Johnson under the headline “Europa bye-bye”.
El Pais in Spain wrote: “Boris Johnson wins an overwhelming victory that clears the way for Brexit.”
France’s Le Monde wrote: “The British have decided.”
Belgium’s De Tijd judged that the “get Brexit done” mantra convinced voters who are “thoroughly fed up”.
They added: “But even Johnson will not be able to pull a solution out of his top hat. That is not a problem, of course. Johnson has broken big promises before.
“Now that Johnson has grabbed his much-desired absolute majority in the House of Commons, new cliff-hangers are expected, and the Brexit soap will continue”.
Germany’s biggest online paper Der Spiegel has this headline: “The Turkeys voted for Christmas.”
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Our nearest neighbour sees trouble ahead. John Downing wrote in the Irish Independent: “Two immediate things will result in Ireland. First is there will be an election in the Republic of Ireland in February or early March.
“Second is that the Democratic Unionist Party is surplus to requirements. They must join Sinn Féin in getting over themselves to make power-sharing in Belfast work again after three years of shameful idleness.”
He warned of consequences on the island of Ireland: “Every time the UK talks about abandoning EU standards, they risk being penalised by quotas and tariffs. That would be really bad news for Ireland which does a cumulative east-west trade worth €1.5bn (£1.25bn) per week. It’s even worse news for Northern Ireland business where seamless north-south trade depends on those EU standards.”
El Mundo in Spain wrote: “Many see his hostile treatment of Parliament during his first two months as a presage of what’s coming next.
“With an absolute majority, it is feared that Boris Johnson could behave like a real despot and promote a definitive “decollage” from Europe, pivoting British society towards the American model (after all, he was born in New York).”
There were many sombre notes sounded. Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter said: “Openness to the outside world made modern Britain what it is today. Now the fog lowers across the English Channel.
“The continent is isolated.”
Our message to them all? Remember us in Scotland, please, and keep that light on.
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