'Another mad day in Brexitland': How Europe's press reported on Boris Johnson's humiliation in parliament

‘In defeat, some people become quiet and humble, but Boris Johnson is not known to be such a person’

Europe’s press has watched on with amazement at the continuing Brexit drama in Britain. Viewed from abroad, the continent’s papers report Boris Johnson being put in his place by a parliament he tried to defy – fighting for survival after a strategic misstep barely six weeks into office.

France’s daily Le Monde newspaper described Tuesday’s events as “another mad day in Brexitland”, writing: “In the space of a few hours, Britain’s new prime minister lost what remained of his majority in the Commons, failed to prevent a major rebellion in his own camp, and lost a crucial battle to no-deal opponents”.

In Belgium, French-Language newspaper Le Soir’s editorial is headlined “Hard Brexit, back to reality” – and warns of a “stinging setback” for Mr Johnson. The country’s Dutch-language daily newspaper De Standaard, meanwhile, runs with the headline “Parliament crushes Johnson” and gleefully reproduces a Dutch-subtitled video of John Bercow telling Michael Gove to “be a good boy”.

“The threats of Johnson’s political purge and exclusion of the ‘traitors’ from the Conservative Party have served nothing,” writes Italian newspaper La Repubblica. The paper’s London correspondent described strategist Dominic Cummings as “the Rasputin of Johnson’s extremist turn”. Another Italian newspaper, La Stampa describes Tuesday’s events as “one of the most dramatic days in the country since the Second World War”.

The Irish Times’ chief political commentator wrote a column ahead of the vote headlined: “Welcome to the United Kingdom of Absurdistan”, which argues that “Britain’s democracy is built on feudalism and its unwritten constitution is feeble”. Another columnist following the defeat declares that Britain needs a history lesson and that it is “time to tell London about our shared history and responsibility”.

El País, a Spanish daily newspaper, said the British parliament was not “not impressed with the popularity of Boris Johnson, nor intimidated by his bravado” – accusing the prime minister of “babbling” and ultimately “learning just how fiercely a parliamentary system reacts when its powers are threatened”.

Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza notes that the defeat is considered a “humiliation” for the prime minister in the UK and in analysis adds: “The situation is the result of Johnson himself, who at the end of last week led to a sharp aggravation of the political dispute, asking the Queen to suspend the work of parliament for five weeks to prevent parliamentarians from blocking Brexit without an agreement.”

Romania’s daily newspaper Adevărul runs a headline asking: “Which disaster scenario do you prefer? No-deal Brexit or early elections?” The paper’s columnist says Boris Johnson has met his “first failure in his short career as prime minister”. Bulgarian business newspaper Kapital says the prime minister’s plans are “seriously shaken”.

Meanwhile, Germany’s top financial newspaper, Handelsblatt, wrote that Mr Johnson was “already fighting for his political survival” as his country “slipped deeper and deeper into political chaos”.

German news magazine Der Spiegel carried a huge volume of Brexit coverage on Wednesday. “In defeat, some people become quiet and humble, but Boris Johnson is not known to be such a person,” its London correspondent writes. It adds that “yesterday was full of remarkable scenes that recalled what a living institution parliament is”, touching on Phillip Lee’s defection to the Liberal Democrats and the “manspreading” of Jacob-Rees Mogg.

The magazine’s correspondent concludes: “The British parliament showed yesterday evening that it is more rebellious, more powerful, more agile than prime minister Boris Johnson has imagined – and it is unwilling to hand over power without a struggle to a strong-willed head of government.”