Labelling May’s senior appointments as the “Gang of Four”, the PM would announce Philip Hammond as Chancellor of the Exchequer, supported by Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary with Amber Rudd securing Home Secretary.
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While significantly overhauling the government Ms May also left some ministers in situ.
Attending a Bastille Day reception at the French ambassador’s residence in London on Wednesday evening, Johnson was booed by a small section of the crowd of several hundred mostly French and British guests.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew says he would like negotiations on Britain’s exit from the European Union to produce a “highly integrated relationship between the United Kingdom and the EU”.
As leader of Brexit, Johnson has a sour relationship with European Union officials and lawmakers as EC President Jean-Claude Juncker stated that Johnson “should not be trusted”.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Johnson and other Brexit campaigners were “irresponsible” for advocating the Brexit only to “bolt and not take responsibility”, once it actually happened. “The lead and the tone will be set by the prime minister”.
After six years as Cameron’s interior minister, she was viewed as a safe pair of hands to replace him, but began with a ruthless cull of some of her former cabinet colleagues.
But he was undercut by key ally Michael Gove, who pronounced Johnson unfit to serve and ran unsuccessfully for party leader himself.
The former London mayor is popular in Britain and well-known overseas, not least for a colourful use of language regularly directed at foreign leaders.
May’s move – bravery or folly, time will tell – means Johnson will be able to command TV news coverage with a series of foreign trips.
And though many feel he has an uncanny resemblance to Donald Trump, in both appearance and ideology, it did not stop Johnson from uttering this gem: “The only reason I wouldn’t visit some parts of NY is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump”.
Germany’s Handelsblatt called Johnson a “political jester”, the daily Sueddeutsche labelled his appointment an example of “British humour”, while the French L’Obs news magazine’s headline was simply “King of the Blunder”.
European Parliament chief Martin Schulz yesterday took aim at Prime Minister Theresa May’s new cabinet, saying it continued a “dangerously vicious cycle” that will hurt Britain and Europe. “The welfare of the country is not the focal point of political decision-making but inner-party calculations”, Schulz said. Foreign secretaries in Britain have traditionally stayed in a supporting role, refraining from saying anything remotely off-the-cuff or contentious – but that may be a stretch too far for Johnson.
May’s spokesman said she had emphasised in the phone calls, which also included Irish premier Enda Kenny, that she would implement the referendum decision. Merkel declined to comment on the appointment of Boris Johnson, who had campaigned for a British exit from the European Union, as Britain’s new foreign secretary.
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David Davis, a former Europe minister, was appointed head of a new Brexit ministry while former defence minister Liam Fox was put in charge of a new worldwide trade department.
