The Economist (October 28)
Unlike Theresa May’s losing gamble, Shinzo Abe’s snap election “paid off handsomely.” The result of the gutsy move was hardly certain. “Rarely has such an unpopular leader won a free and fair election so lopsidedly. Only about one-third of Japanese people approve of Shinzo Abe” while “a whopping 51% disapprove. Yet on October 22nd his Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner kept its two-thirds majority in the lower house.” For this unusual outcome, he owes the opposition, which “imploded,” a debt of gratitude.
Tags: Abe, Coalition, Election, Imploded, Japan, LDP, Lopsided, Majority, May, Opposition, UK, Unpopular
The Guardian (October 23)
“Weak, depressed and despondent” describes the government benches as Prime Minister Theresa May made her “now-ritual update” to the Commons “on the continued lack of progress in the Brexit negotiations.” The update has “become as painful for the Conservative party as it has for the prime minister.” That said, it should be noted that some “deranged Brexiters” found a chance to roar “their approval at Britain becoming worse off than Mongolia and Mauritania.”
Tags: Brexit, Commons, Conservatives, Depressed, Deranged, Despondent, Government, Mauritania, May, Mongolia, Progress, Update, Weak
Reuters (June 9)
“Despite her dramatic electoral upset, British Prime Minister Theresa May appears determined to stay in office. In the short term, she could yet manage it. But the longer-term consequences may well be disastrous for her country.”
Tags: Consequences, Determined, Disastrous, Dramatic, May, Prime minister, UK, Upset
The Guardian (June 5)
Theresa May “has made an art of avoiding public confrontation with the US president.” Nevertheless, “enough is enough.” The Prime Minister “should make clear to Mr Trump how offensive and unhelpful his extraordinary intervention was, and rescind the invitation that has been extended to him for a state visit later this year.”
Tags: Avoidance, Invitation, May, Offensive, Public confrontation, Rescind, State visit, Trump, U.S., UK, Unhelpful
Financial Times (May 26)
“A few weeks ago Donald Trump set a record that I assumed was unassailable; Theresa May has since sailed past it with ease. The leaders of the US and the UK have become so proficient at changing direction that ‘U-turn’ no longer seems adequate. Donald and Theresa are spinning policy doughnuts.”
The Economist (April 22)
In the UK, everything “changes with the news of an election” this June. “With a proper mandate and some clout in Parliament, the prime minister would have the chance to shake off the ‘Theresa Maybe’ nickname that we gave her earlier this year.” Meanwhile, “businesses, lobby groups and, of course, private citizens have a chance to make the case for a soft Brexit both during the campaign and after it…. The battle over Brexit was fought last summer. The battle to define what form it should take is far from over.”
The Guardian (March 29)
“There’s no going back–May has burned the boats of a divided nation.” But the move is backward looking, despite the Prime Minister’s protestations that the move will enable “a stronger, fairer, better Britain–a Britain our children and grandchildren are proud to call home.” In fact, only 12% of young people aged 18-24 support Brexit while 65% think leaving the EU is wrong. “At the other end of the age spectrum, the over-65s say the opposite, with 62% saying it was right to leave and 31% saying it was wrong.”
The Economist (January 21)
“Negotiating free-trade agreements will be harder and more time-consuming than Mrs May suggests.” Reaching a comprehensive deal in two years is unrealistic. “Canada’s free-trade deal with the EU has taken seven years and is not yet in force. For Britain to replicate the EU’s trade deals with 53 third countries will be more testing” and ratification remains “tricky,” requiring approval by every parliament in the EU.”
Tags: Approval, Canada, EU, Free-trade agreements, May, Negotiations, Ratification, UK, Unrealistic
The Economist (October 8)
The Brexit journey “will be complex and perilous, beset by wrong turnings, chicanes and elephant traps…. and Mrs May will determine its course. If Britain is not to suffer a car crash, she must ignore the back-seat drivers and fix her eyes firmly on the road ahead.”
New York Times (October 5)
The Brexit “reality is that Britain has a lot to lose in leaving the union, and that putting a two-year limit on the negotiations further weakens an already shaky hand.” Following Prime Minister May’s announcement of a timetable for withdrawal, “the prompt plunge of the British currency to a 31-year low against the dollar provided a far louder response than the misguided cheers of her fellow Conservative Party members.”
