Branding him a liar, a coward or a joker, Europe’s political class greeted Eurosceptic Boris Johnson’s appointment as Britain’s foreign minister with a chorus of dismay yesterday.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault eschewed the customary diplomatic niceties to ask how a man who had told lies as leader of the Leave campaign in last month’s British EU referendum could be a credible interlocutor.
“I am not at all worried about Boris Johnson, but during the campaign he lied a lot to the British people and now it is he who has his back to the wall,” Ayrault told Europe 1 radio.
“I need a partner with whom I can negotiate and who is clear, credible and reliable.”
Johnson told reporters later he had received “a charming letter” from Ayrault saying how much he looked forward to working together and to deepening Anglo-French co-operation.
But he acknowledged: “After a vote like the referendum result on June 23, it is inevitable there is going to be a certain amount of plaster coming off the ceiling in the chancelleries of Europe.
“It wasn’t the result they were expecting. Clearly they are making their views known in a frank and free way.”
Johnson was accused of misleading voters by proclaiming that Britain was paying 350mn pounds ($468mn) a week to the EU that could be spent on the National Health Service.
The figure did not take account of London’s budget rebate or of EU spending on public and private sector projects in the UK.
EU leaders including European Council President Donald Tusk condemned Johnson’s comparison during the campaign of the EU’s goals with those of Hitler and Napoleon.
The rambunctious former mayor of London has insulted or lampooned a series of world leaders including US President Barack Obama, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and both the Democratic and Republican candidates to succeed Obama.
After the June 23 vote to leave the European Union, Johnson took time off to play cricket and abruptly dropped a widely expected bid to stand as prime minister in place of fellow Conservative David Cameron, who had campaigned to stay in.
Cameron’s successor, Theresa May, named the former mayor of London and one-time EU-bashing Brussels journalist as her foreign secretary late on Wednesday, and put another veteran Eurosceptic, David Davis, in charge of EU exit negotiations.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Johnson’s appointment was a clear signal that Britain intended to leave the European Union and urged May to end uncertainty and give formal notice soon of London’s intention to withdraw.
Merkel declined comment on Johnson’s elevation when asked on a visit to Kyrgyzstan, but Steinmeier indirectly branded him “irresponsible”.
Speaking just before Johnson was appointed, Steinmeier said: “It is bitter for Britain. People there are experiencing a rude awakening after irresponsible politicians first lured the country into Brexit then, once the decision was made, bolted and instead of taking responsibility went off to play cricket.
“I find this outrageous but it’s not just bitter for Britain. It’s also bitter for the European Union.”
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.
That was a foretaste of the potentially hostile reception he can expect when he attends his first EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Monday.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini had invited ministers to an informal night-before dinner to discuss the foreign policy impact of Brexit, but diplomats said that date was now in doubt following Johnson’s nomination.