For El País in Spain, his “magic has vanished”. For Libération in France he is “the only actor in the Boris Johnson show – which is, increasingly, a flop”. In Germany, Der Spiegel asked how long Britain could last being governed “almost exclusively by defiant optimism”.
As the scandals mount, the approval ratings plunge, the electoral defeats accumulate, the rebellions multiply, his trusted Brexit lieutenant jumps ship and the Omicron variant runs rampant, continental media seem – to coin a phrase – in no mood to donner un break to Britain’s beleaguered prime minister.
“Johnson says he accepts responsibility,” wrote Libération. “But for what? The spectacular defeat of his party in North Shropshire, which he himself triggered by supporting the local MP, accused of corruption? The multiple parties under his roof when the country was in lockdown?”
Does he also accept responsibility for “the total absence, for months, of any social distancing measures or masks” in the face of a rampaging virus that has killed nearly 150,000 people, the paper asked. And for “the ailing economy; the plunging foreign investments; Brexit, which still has not delivered the slightest positive result?” » | Jon Henley in Paris | Tuesday, December 21, 2021
