Boris Johnson ‘lied a lot,’ says French foreign minister; Washington Post, 7/14/16

Michael Birnbaum and Griff Witte, Washington Post; Boris Johnson ‘lied a lot,’ says French foreign minister:

"Britain’s new top diplomat, Boris Johnson, swept into office Thursday on a cloud of acrimony, amid worldwide disbelief that the irreverent campaigner for a British break from the European Union will now be his nation’s main voice abroad.

From composing a dirty limerick about the Turkish president and a goat to comparing the E.U. to Hitler and calling Hillary Clinton a “sadistic nurse,” the mop-haired Johnson spared few world leaders in his previous career as the devil-may-care mayor of London. This time, he was on the receiving end: France’s foreign minister declared that the “leave” campaigner had “lied a lot,” and Germany’s top diplomat called him “irresponsible.”

The unusually sharp rhetoric from Johnson’s new peers reflected the degree to which he has alienated Britain’s global partners and the challenges he faces as he takes part in his nation’s divorce from the E.U. From Washington to Paris and Berlin to Ankara, leaders uttered bitter cries of surprise at the appointment of a man who has reveled in dishing offense, not making friends. Critics said Britain appears to be taking further steps to disengage from the world."

A warning to Gove and Johnson - we won’t forget what you did; Guardian, 7/1/16

Jonathan Freedland, Guardian; A warning to Gove and Johnson - we won’t forget what you did:

"Senior civil servants say Brexit will consume their energies for years to come, as they seek to disentangle 40 years of agreements. It will be the central focus of our politics and our government, a massive collective effort demanding ingenuity and creativity. Just think of what could have been achieved if all those resources had been directed elsewhere. Into addressing, for instance, the desperate, decades-long needs – for jobs, for housing, for a future – of those towns that have been left behind by the last 30 years of change, those towns whose people voted leave the way a passenger on a doomed train pulls the emergency cord. Instead, all this work will be devoted to constructing a set-up with the EU which, if everything goes our way, might be only a little bit worse than what we already had in our hands on 22 June.

This week of shock will settle, eventually. Events will begin to move at a slower pace. We will realise that we have to be patient, that we need to wait till France and Germany get their elections out of the way, and hope that a new future can be negotiated – one that implements the democratic verdict delivered in the referendum, but which does not maim this country in the process. But even as we grow calmer, we should not let our anger cool. We should hold on to our fury, against those who for the sake of their career or a pet dogma, were prepared to wreck everything. On this day when we mourn what horror the Europe before the European Union was capable of, we should say loud and clear of those that did this: we will not forget them."