“The appointment of Boris Johnson is a clear message in every sense from Prime Minister Kay that she takes the result of the referendum serious and wants to implement the Brexit”, Steinmeier told German weekly Bild am Sonntag. “The Secretary stressed USA support for a sensible and measured approach to the Brexit process and offered to stay engaged as the United Kingdom government develops its plans”.
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He had also come out strongly in support of Andrea Leadsom, May’s last remaining opponent to the post of Conservative party leader before she withdrew on Monday.
Former London Mayor and one of the lead campaigners for Brexit is now the new foreign secretary.
The libertarian Davis – a former special forces reservist who boasts that he has broken his nose five times – has sparred with May for years over the powers of Britain’s spy agencies, which she oversaw as home secretary and he thinks are too intrusive.
Johnson’s certainly not the obvious choice for Britain’s top diplomat. The former mayor of London is internationally famous – but for rumpled eccentricity and distinctly undiplomatic gaffes, rather than statesmanlike behavior.
He also cited Johnson’s remarks that US President Barack Obama held a grudge against Britain because of his “half-Kenyan ancestry”.
Speaking to BBC news after his appointment on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said he was “obviously very, very humbled, very, very proud to be offered this chance”.
Veteran right-wingers David Davis and Liam Fox – both ardent campaigners for Brexit – have been named, respectively, as Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and head of a new global trade department, key positions in the arduous negotiations ahead.
“The Cabinet works collectively and we have got a range of different characters and a range of different styles and a range of different talents”.
Work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb, who had also sought the prime minister’s job, resigned citing family reasons, days after the married politician had hit the front pages for allegedly sending flirtatious WhatsApp messages to a young woman.
He said he had received a call from US Secretary of State John Kerry, who called for “more Britain abroad”. Boris Johnson has the delicate job of handling diplomacy; except, well, his previous interactions have been rather un-delicate. “So I don’t know what you’re talking about”.
Davis has previously said Britain should take a “brisk but measured” approach to exit talks with the European Union, invoking Article 50 of the European Union constitution – the formal trigger for two years of exit negotiations – by the start of 2017. It’s not just bitter for Great Britain.
“At this incredibly important time that will determine Britain’s economic and cultural relations with Europe, it is extraordinary that the new prime minister has chosen someone whose career is built on making jokes”, Farron said.
Juergen Hardt said in a statement Thursday that, for example, “free access to the common market means, among other things, accepting other fundamental freedoms such as the freedom of movement” between European countries.
Hammond on Thursday said he would not submit an emergency budget in response to the Brexit decision, and would instead submit the budget in the fall, as is customary.
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“The number one challenge is to stabilize the economy, send signals of confidence about the future, the plans we have for the future, to the markets, to businesses, to global investors”, Hammond told Sky News.
