On Wednesday, key Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson was handed the reins to British diplomacy after being appointed foreign secretary of the United Kingdom in new prime minister Theresa May’s cabinet.
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Britain’s former Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, who imposed the travel restrictions following the Sousse attack of a year ago, has been promoted to Chancellor of the Exchequer, often seen as the number two job in government.
Osborne no longer holds a Cabinet position.
While those voting Leave may be delighted, the pound isn’t and moments after the announcement, sterling set a new intraday low at 1.3155. “I seem to remember last time he did a deal with the Germans, he came back with three almost new water cannon”.
Much of the civilised world loved it when Johnson took aim at Trump for suggesting that Muslim-dominated regions of London were out of bounds for police.
I think Boris Johnson has the charisma and the experience in his role as mayor of London to make a go of this.
Since being appointed mayor of London in 2008, the former journalist has quickly made a name for himself as a controversial figure on the UK’s political stage, more often than not to mocking from the press as well as fellow politicians both home and overseas.
Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister, said: “I am not at all anxious about Boris Johnson, but you know his style, his method during the [EU referendum] campaign”.
Among Brussels diplomats the response was more muted: “He’s a surprise choice and there are questions about whether he is credible”, one envoy said.
Johnson later reacted angrily to what he called “smears”, denying that he was an apologist for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Despite recent efforts to project a more serious image, Johnson may well find that old and not-so-old jokes come back to haunt him in his new job.
Johnson was one of the leading voices of the successful Brexit campaign.
European Council president Donald Tusk said he is hoping for a fruitful working relationship and is keen to meet with her.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron attacked the appointment of Mr Johnson, pointing out that during the referendum campaign he compared the ambitions of the European Union with Hitler’s and “insulted” USA president Barack Obama by referring to his “part-Kenyan” ancestry.
But it foretells the reception Johnson is likely to receive among the 27 other European Union foreign ministers during the coming years of fraught negotiations.
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Sacked from the Times newspaper as a cub reporter for making up a quote, and fired as a Conservative spokesman for lying over an extra-marital affair in 2004, Johnson has a colorful past which might have fatally damaged other politicians.
