Political analysts and commentators have consistently said Johnson hoped to use a vote in favor of a British exit from the European Union, or Brexit, as a launching pad for national leadership.
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Europe will continue in the wake of Britain’s decision but it was “urgent” for Europe to “react and regain the trust of the people”.
Britain’s departure – which is not immediate and must be negotiated with the EU – could present the next USA president with a decision on whether to turn to other key European partners like Germany and France, essentially downgrading a special US bond with London forged in World War Two.
Triggering Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty – which has never been used before – starts a two-year clock ticking on a formal exit arrangement.
For those who believed the European Union had become too large, too powerful, and too distant, this was a nightmare come true.
In contrast to the clamoring of European Union officials, the leaders of Britain’s “leave” campaign, who had reassured voters that the European Union would offer Britain good terms for a new relationship, were largely silent Saturday. While both England and Wales voted 53 per cent Leave, Northern Ireland and Scotland voted Remain (at 56 and 62 percent respectively). Also supporting Leave was UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who argued that immigrants were costing Britons jobs, using up government services, and committing crimes.
The shock outcome of Thursday’s historic referendum could have a knock-on effect on other European Union members battling hostility to Brussels and possibly lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom after Scotland raised the prospect of another independence vote.
But with Britain in limbo politically for three months following the resignation of British Prime Minister David Cameron, that’s unlikely to happen.
Top Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London and a favourite to succeed Cameron, also said there was “no need for haste”.
But European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Saturday that the British had voted to leave, and “it doesn’t make any sense to wait until October to try and negotiate the terms of their departure”.
“I would like to get started immediately”, he said.
Sturgeon said she believes Scotland’s consent is required for the move but conceded the British government would likely take “a very different view”.
“We now expect the United Kingdom government to provide clarity and give effect to this decision as soon as possible”, the ministers from Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg said in a joint statement.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said he hoped there would be no “cat and mouse” game.
“We take note of the British people’s decision with regret”. The process calls for Conservative lawmakers to winnow candidates down to two choices who will then be voted on in a postal ballot of party members.
Ms Merkel said there was “no need to be particularly nasty in any way in the negotiations” and that “they must be conducted properly”. “They must be conducted properly”, Merkel said at a news conference in Potsdam, outside Berlin.
Ayrault, the French foreign minister, said earlier other European Union leaders would press Cameron at a summit meeting next week to act quickly: “There will be a lot of pressure on Cameron on Tuesday to move ahead”, he said.
Writing on Twitter, Mr Cummings said: “David Cameron was quite right”.
On Saturday, Britain’s representative on the EU’s executive Commission, Jonathan Hill, stepped down, saying he was disappointed by the referendum result but “what’s done can not be undone”.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average registered its largest single-day point fall since 2011, losing 610 points.
“It is clear that the broader markets went into this critical vote with too much comfort”, echoed George Goncalves of Nomura Securities.
The pound dropped to its lowest level since 1985, plunging more than 10% from about US$1.50 to $1.35 before a slight recovery.
Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the UK’s economic outlook from stable to negative, saying Britain faces “a prolonged period of uncertainty … with negative implications for the country’s medium-term growth outlook”.
But a series of crises have shaken British confidence in the EU.
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A senior figure of the British Labour Party says embattled party leader Jeremy Corbyn won’t step down despite internal opposition.
