May Day, May Day: Post-Brexit Britain has a new PM
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euro topicsTheresa May is set to become the UK's next prime minister after her rival for the post Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the race to succeed David Cameron. Commentators believe May has what it takes to lead Britain out of the EU without too many negative repercussions.
London's new difficult woman - La Vanguardia, Spain
Theresa May's tough bearing reminds La Vanguardia columnist Màrius Carol of another powerful woman in Europe: "This lady is known to be more of a manager than a politician. This is why a well-known conservative columnist said that putting her in charge of the UK when the country is preparing to leave the EU was like making a bank director referee in a boxing match between two heavyweights. In any case she had been home secretary for six years, a record in her country because no one else has managed to hold out in this difficult job for so long in the last 50 years. May is being compared with Merkel because like her she has a reputation for being tough, she's the daughter of a clergyman and she has no children. She also has a similar understanding of how to be charming. Only yesterday she said that EU president Juncker would be the next one to find out that she is a 'bloody difficult' woman." (12/07/2016)
EU must be cooperative - De Telegraaf, The Netherlands
May is the ideal person to lead the negotiations with the EU, De Telegraaf comments: "The fact that she belonged to the Remain camp makes her an acceptable negotiating partner. Apart from that, May has already said that she will respect the results of the referendum. And she has ample experience of leadership, which will prove necessary in the protracted negotiations. In other words: May could be the ideal candidate to appease the deeply divided United Kingdom. But for this she could do with a helping hand from the EU. With their intransigent words, some European leaders and politicians are doing all they can to drive the Brits even further away from the EU. You don't reach an agreement by threatening exiting members with hell and damnation." (12/07/2016)
Britain under May?
May needs general election mandate - The Independent, UK
The fact that Theresa May was chosen by Tory MPs and not the general public could be a stumbling block for the future prime minister and her party, The Independent believes: "When party leaders fail after being chosen by a ballot of members, it is the fault of the grassroots in choosing a dead duck. When elected prime ministers fail at the job, the country backed the wrong horse. But when a PM-in-waiting is handed the job on a platter - even in the most spectacularly convoluted leadership contest modern politics has ever witnessed - and then fails, it is always the fault of the party. That is the lesson from the demise of Brown. So now there’s only one way Theresa May can get the mandate she craves and protect the party she has served: she must call an immediate general election." (12/07/2016)
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Translated from Theresa May: Madame Brexit allein zu Haus