What the rest of the world thinks of Boris Johnson

Tory leadership favourite likened to Donald
Trump but with more ‘political stardust’

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“Boris Johnson as the head of the United Kingdom? No thanks!”
says French daily Le Monde. An editorial in the newspaper says
that his threat to keep the £39bn “divorce bill” payment owed to
Europe would “taint” the international credibility of the UK, which
claims to champion the rule of law.

“His entry to 10 Downing Sreet would be a calamity for his
country and for Europe,” it concludes.

Germany’s Deutsche Welle agrees that the “wannabe British
PM” has a “penchant for gaffes, extramarital affairs and fanning
the flames of Euroskepticism”.

The public broadcaster suggests that Johnson’s decision to
“throw his considerable weight and high profile behind Brexit” was
something of a “career move”, but warns that “as Theresa May has
learned this year, it is dangerous to dismiss Boris Johnson as a
clown”.

EU leaders have been lining up to throw cold water on Johnson’s
plans to reopen Brexit deal negotiations or leave without an
agreement by 31 October.

“I don’t think the credibility of Boris Johnson is very high in
the EU. He’s someone who says one thing and says the opposite the
next day,” says Christian Lequesne, a professor of European
politics at French university Sciences Po.

The New York Times has published an even
more damning opinion piece by sociologist William Davies, who
claims that a “fanatical sect has hijacked British politics”.

Johnson is “poised to become prime minister thanks to a small,
unrepresentative population of Brexiteer voters bent on
destruction”, warns Davies.

Even Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused by critics of
leading an authoritarian regime, has said the selection of a PM
through a vote of party members rather than a general election is
“strange”.

But while Johnson’s enthusiastic comments about no-deal Brexit
have put off many Europeans, it is the main appeal for his
supporters, says Davies.

One such supporter includes US President Donald Trump, who has
said: “I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be
excellent.”

Many newspapers and broadcasters have drawn comparisons between
the two men, including Russia’s Sputnik, which argues they have more in common
than “their trademark hairdo”.

Both initially appear to be unlikely candidates for political
leadership and both have been embroiled in personal cheating
allegations. More importantly, both “have a thing for scrapping
alliances and treaties”, says the news agency, referring to Trump’s
withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 1994 Nafta
deal and the Iran nuclear deal, and Johnson’s long-running campaign
for Britain to exit the EU.

However, the Australian Financial Review’s Hans van Leeuwen
argues that Johnson’s “broader charm and charisma” marks him out
from Trump.

“The Left may loathe him, but he can win over the uncommitted
with his plain speech and political stardust,” van Leeuwen
says. 

“Whereas May was the grim and unsmiling undertaker of Brexit,
Boris will at least shamble towards the shitstorm with his umbrella
folded up, and will urge his countrymen to do the same.”