Sweden Hits Back at Donald Trump in Row over A$AP Rocky Detention

THE GUARDIAN: Ex-Swedish PM tells US president political interference in rule of law is off limits

Sweden has hit back at Donald Trump after the US president reacted angrilyto a decision to press assault charges against the American rapper A$AP Rocky, insisting its independent judicial system must do its work.

“The rule of the law applies to everyone equally and is exercised by an independent judiciary,” tweeted former prime minister Carl Bildt. “That’s the way it is in the US, and that’s certainly the way it is in Sweden. Political interference in the process is distinctly off limits. Clear?”

Trump said on Thursday he was very disappointed in Stefan Löfven for being unable to act. He said “Sweden has let our African American community down in the United States. Give A$AP Rocky his freedom.”

The US president also said: “We do so much for Sweden but it doesn’t seem to work the other way around. Sweden should focus on its real crime problem.” » | Jon Henley | Friday, July 26, 2019

ITV News Exclusive: Jacob Rees-Mogg Issues Style Guide to Staff

ITV: The new Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg has instructed all staff in his new office to use imperial measurements and refer to ‘non-titled males’ as ‘esquire’.

Issuing a style guide in the first week of his job, he also bans colleagues from using various words in correspondence with other MPs and the public.

Among the list of bizarre rules, he asks staff not to use the words “got”, “very” or “equal”. » | Paul Brand, Political correspondent | Friday, July 26, 2019

Boris Johnson: 'The Boy Who Wanted to Be World King' – BBC Newsnight

Veteran political reporter Michael Cockerell profiles the man that will lead the UK through the next daunting steps ahead.

Brussels: Brexit Agreement Is 'Best and Only Agreement Possible' – EU Commission

New Study Predicts Millions of Americans May Become Exposed To "Off The Charts" Heat

Climate scientist Michael Mann discusses the increasing frequency and severity of heat waves, just as the US, Europe, and India are experiencing this Summer

Democracy Now! Top US & World Headlines — July 26, 2019

New British Leader: Boris Johnson's Turkish Roots

The British leader has a strong link to Turkey. Boris Johnson can trace some of his ancestors back to a village about a hundred kilometers from the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Brexit Deadlock as No 10 Insists EU Must Scrap Backstop before Talks

THE GUARDIAN: Boris Johnson’s spokesman says if new deal is not possible, UK ‘will be leaving’

Boris Johnson’s government has played down the idea of fresh Brexit talks with the EU unless Brussels first agrees to reopen the entire withdrawal agreement and scrap the Irish backstop, both of which have been repeatedly ruled out.

In a stance that appears to place the UK more firmly on course for a no-deal departure on 31 October, Downing Street said there were no new Brexit talks scheduled, and that Johnson was “clear what the basis for those discussions needs to be”.

His spokesman said: “I don’t have a date to point you towards. The PM has been very clear that he is ready to begin having those discussions, but obviously the key point is the withdrawal agreement is not going to pass parliament, so that is going to mean reopening the withdrawal agreement.” » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Friday, July 26, 2019

US Ambassador: Trump Likes Boris Johnson for 'Calling It As He Sees It'

THE GUARDIAN: Woody Johnson says they have a lot in common and will have ‘sensational’ relationship

Donald Trump respects Boris Johnson for “calling it as he sees it”, the US ambassador to the UK has said, responding to the new prime minister’s 2015 description of the US president as “frankly unfit to hold office”.

Woody Johnson said the relationship between the two would be “sensational”. “I think they do have a lot [in common],” he said. “Both these leaders have their own style, but they have similarities and I think they have clear vision of what they want to accomplish.”

Speaking following the new prime minister’s election as Conservative party leader on Tuesday, the president heaped praise on Johnson, describing him as “Britain Trump”. » | Frances Perraudin | Friday, July 26, 2019

Morning After: Boris Johnson Recovers from Lebedev’s Exotic Italian Party

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: New prime minister refuses to say if he abandoned security for 2018 night in billionaire’s castle

A trip Boris Johnson made to Italy for a party held by a billionaire socialite ended with the then foreign secretary at an airport “looking like he had slept in his clothes”, struggling to walk in a straight line and telling other passengers he had had a heavy night, the Guardian has been told.

Pictures of the now prime minister along with an account from a fellow traveller shed further light on Johnson’s weekend away at the home of the media owner Evgeny Lebedev, who is known for hosting uproarious parties for the rich and famous at his converted castle near Perugia.

Johnson has refused to answer questions about the visit in April last year, including whether he flew to Italy against the advice of his officials and without the 24/7 security detail usually assigned to the foreign secretary.

The pictures, taken at San Francesco d’Assisi airport on Sunday 29 April 2018, suggest he did go to Italy without a police escort. According to another passenger on the flight back to the UK, Johnson was on his own, seemingly without any luggage and very much the worse for wear. » | Nick Hopkins | Friday, July 26, 2019

France Warns Boris Johnson Not to Play Games with Irish Border

THE GUARDIAN: Minister says withdrawal agreement including backstop will not be renegotiated

The French government has warned Boris Johnson against playing games with the Irish border after the new British prime minister demanded the ditching of the backstop.

Amélie de Montchalin, France’s minister for European affairs, said both sides should avoid “games, gestures and provocations” with just three months to go before the UK is due to leave the EU.

Speaking alongside her Irish counterpart, Helen McEntee, during a visit to the Irish border, De Montchalin said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, would hold talks with Johnson in France in the coming weeks.

She said there was “solidarity” with Ireland and reiterated that the withdrawal agreement was “the best we have” and would not be renegotiated. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Friday, July 26, 2019

From Trump to Johnson, Nationalists Are On The Rise – Backed by Billionaire Oligarchs

THE GUARDIAN: The ultra-rich are benefitting from disaster capitalism as institutions, rules and democratic oversight implode

Seven years ago the impressionist Rory Bremner complained that politicians had become so boring that few of them were worth mimicking: “They’re quite homogenous and dull these days … It’s as if character is seen as a liability.” Today his profession has the opposite problem: however extreme satire becomes, it struggles to keep pace with reality. The political sphere, so dull and grey a few years ago, is now populated by preposterous exhibitionists.

This trend is not confined to the UK – everywhere the killer clowns are taking over. Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump, Narendra Modi, Jair Bolsonaro, Scott Morrison, Rodrigo Duterte, Matteo Salvini, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Viktor Orbán and a host of other ludicrous strongmen – or weakmen, as they so often turn out to be – dominate nations that would once have laughed them off stage. The question is why? Why are the technocrats who held sway almost everywhere a few years ago giving way to extravagant buffoons?

Social media, an incubator of absurdity, is certainly part of the story. But while there has been plenty of good work investigating the means, there has been surprisingly little thinking about the ends. Why are the ultra-rich, who until recently used their money and newspapers to promote charisma-free politicians, now funding this circus? Why would capital wish to be represented by middle managers one moment and jesters the next? » | George Monbiot | Friday, July 26, 2019

The EU Will Not Renegotiate Brexit Deal, Juncker Tells Johnson

THE GUARDIAN: European commission president tells PM existing deal is ‘the best and only agreement possible’

European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has told Boris Johnson that the bloc’s member nations will not give in to his demand to renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

On Thursday, Juncker – in his first telephone call with Johnson since he took over as British prime minister – called the existing deal “the best and only agreement possible”.

Johnson has insisted that the current agreement to leave the EU and arrangements regarding the Irish border were not good enough and had to be renegotiated.

Juncker the EU would analyse any ideas put forward by the UK, provided they are compatible with the withdrawal agreement, spokeswoman Mina Andreeva tweeted in a readout of the phone call. The pair also exchanged phone numbers and agreed to remain in touch. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Thursday, July 25, 2019

BoJo Cleans Out UK Cabinet, Only Hardliners Remain – Galloway

Newly-minted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is made his debut in Parliament on Thursday. He fielded questions from a noisy House of Commons, with both cheers and jeers directed his way regarding Brexit. So what’s next for the UK political scene? Former UK MP George Galloway breaks it down.

Protests Erupt in London as Boris Johnson Is Sworn In as New Prime Minister, Promising Swift Brexit

Boris Johnson was sworn in as the new British prime minister Wednesday, pledging to deliver a swift Brexit and spending his first full day in office Thursday packing his Cabinet with hard-line Brexiteers. His election was the first time that a party’s membership directly chose the prime minister. The membership of the Conservative Party who voted for Johnson represents less than 1% of the British population. Johnson, who previously served as mayor of London and foreign secretary, replaces outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May. Boris Johnson is a highly contentious figure in the United Kingdom who has built his career on controversy. He is known for outrageous political gaffes and is a close ally of President Donald Trump. He has vowed to cut taxes for the rich, and positioned himself as a friend to big banks. Thousands of protesters marched through Central London to protest the new prime minister Wednesday. We speak with Ash Sarkar, senior editor of Novara Media, who says Johnson has crafted a public persona for himself as “bumbling, ineffectual, posh but benign,” but says this facade conceals “someone who has always been a very ambitious man.”

'This Is Why He [Trump] Can't Have A Second Term' | Morning Joe | MSNBC

While railing against the Mueller probe this week, the president told audience members at the Turning Point USA Teen Student Action Summit that Article II of the Constitution gives him the right to do 'whatever I want as president.' The panel discusses.

The Donald and Boris Love-in Won’t Last Unless the UK Delivers for Trump

THE GUARDIAN: Johnson is now Trump’s man in Downing Street. But it seems Nigel Farage is the true object of the US president’s affection

We all know about Franklin and Winston, Ronnie and Maggie, and George and Tony. For better or worse, these transatlantic allies enjoyed grand visions, global power and left indelible marks on history. But now we have Donald and Boris, whose grand visions stare back at them each morning in the mirror.

And their concept of global power is – how to put this diplomatically? – incompatible with the concept of intelligent life.

To understand how this DoBo partnership is likely to function, you need to recall Trump’s excruciating explanation of his kind words about Johnson while standing next to the walking dead that was his predecessor this time last year.

“I said, he’ll be a great prime minister,” Trump told reporters at Chequers. “He’s been very nice to me. He’s been saying very good things about me as president. I think he thinks I’m doing a great job. I am doing a great job, that I can tell you. Just in case you haven’t noticed. But Boris Johnson, I think would be a great prime minister.” Trump went on to say how much he truly, madly loved Theresa May. “This incredible woman, right here, is doing a fantastic job, a great job,” he said. “And I mean that.” » | Richard Wolffe | Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Far-right Leaders Join Trump in Welcoming Boris Johnson to No 10

THE GUARDIAN: Italy’s Matteo Salvini and Brazil’s Jair Bolsanaro are among nationalists hailing Johnson

Rightwing, populist and nationalist leaders have welcomed Boris Johnson’s imminent arrival in Downing Street after Donald Trump praised the UK’s new prime minister as a “Britain Trump” who was “tough and smart” and would “do a great job”.

In Italy, Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right, anti-immigration League and deputy prime minister, wished Johnson “all the best”, adding: “The fact that on the left they are painting him as ‘more dangerous than the League’ makes me like him even more.” » | Jon Henley | Wednesday, July 24, 2019

'A New Nadir': EU Papers on Boris Johnson's Ascendancy

THE GUARDIAN: Arrival of ‘clown who wanted to be king’ at No 10 is greeted with scepticism in Europe

Europe’s press could not quite believe it either. “The Queen’s jester,” was the headline in France’s Libération as Boris Johnson prepared to enter No 10 Downing St. “He’ll start breaking his promises tomorrow,” warned Der Spiegel in Germany.

In a scathing portrait of the new prime minister, Le Monde said Johnson was “known for his eccentricity, his elastic positions, his narcissism and his lies”. His “insatiable need to be liked and phenomenal aplomb” meant anything was possible, the paper said. “Boris Johnson has a rendezvous with history – his lifelong dream.”

Libération said Johnson would “have to move fast to unveil his Brexit strategy” – something of a problem as “the possibilities open to him to keep his promise of leaving the EU by 31 October are extremely limited ... If the British government has changed, the obstacles remain the same.” » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Wednesday, July 24, 2019

The Guardian View on Boris Johnson’s Leadership: The Years of a Clown

THE GUARDIAN: If the UK’s new prime minister thinks he can sup with populists like Nigel Farage and Donald Trump over Brexit, he risks ending up as dessert

The Conservative party has finally got a leader it deserves. As the UK’s next prime minister, Boris Johnson won’t be able to outrun boring facts and hide from bad publicity. He faces the most daunting challenge – that of how the UK can leave the European Union – on entering No 10 since Winston Churchill in 1940. It is fitting because Mr Johnson is largely responsible for the mess he now has to clear up. The signs are not promising. His pledge that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October “deal or no deal” is as politically expedient as it is destructive. His bravado helped to win the leadership. But it did not unnerve the EU and only hardened opposition within the party. Burning bridges to Europe is an act of arson not statesmanship. Leaving the EU without a deal threatens to wreck the UK economy, break up Britain and rekindle violence on the island of Ireland. No wonder Mr Johnson says he can avoid a hard Brexit, though he can’t say how. He thinks he will be protected from harm if, and when, things go badly wrong. Yet his praetorian guard are from the Tory hard right who, he will find out, prefer to give rather than obey orders. » | Editorial | Tuesday, July 23, 2019