European ministers’ ridicule shows how far Tories have lowered the UK in the eyes of the world

Last Updated: November 17, 2016By
Boris Johnson was accused of ‘saying things that are intellectually impossible, politically unavailable’ [Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA].

Boris Johnson was accused of ‘saying things that are intellectually impossible, politically unavailable’ [Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA].

This is how the rest of the world sees the UK’s Conservative Government.

Boris Johnson sees the other European countries as a bunch of Johnny Foreigners who need the benevolent guidance of the Tories. They see him as a patronising rich boy who has spent too long sheltered from the realities of life.

If he didn’t have the right-wing mainstream press looking after him here in the UK, the rest of us might see him – and the other Tories – the same way.

Boris Johnson’s approach to Brexit has been ridiculed by European ministers after he told Italy it would have to offer tariff-free trade in order to sell its prosecco in the UK.

Carlo Calenda, an Italian economics minister, said it was insulting that Johnson had told him during a recent meeting that Italy would grant Britain access to the EU’s single market “because you don’t want to lose prosecco exports”.

“He basically said: ‘I don’t want free movement of people but I want the single market,’” he told Bloomberg. “I said: ‘No way.’ He said: ‘You’ll sell less prosecco.’ I said: ‘OK, you’ll sell less fish and chips, but I’ll sell less prosecco to one country and you’ll sell less to 27 countries.’ Putting things on this level is a bit insulting.”

Source: European ministers ridicule Boris Johnson after prosecco claim | Politics | The Guardian

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No Comments

  1. tom November 17, 2016 at 6:59 am - Reply

    For now, it’s a game of chess, when the real talks start in March and Germany who sell billions of euros of goods to UK and is the leader in Europe decide to trade free tarif with UK, all the other countries will follow, because no one wants the WTO getting involve.

  2. Rupert Mitchell (@rupert_rrl) November 17, 2016 at 8:59 am - Reply

    I like it because that is exactly the way I feel! If we had spent more time and effort negotiating with our European partners instead of insulting them we would not be in the terrible uncertain state which are in now.

    • Barry Davies November 17, 2016 at 6:20 pm - Reply

      Which part of cameron trying to negotiate and getting told to go away without gaining anything didn’t you get, there pompous unelected commissars in brussels do what they want not what elected government s or the people want.

  3. Christine Cullen November 17, 2016 at 10:08 am - Reply

    As a Londoner and having lived through 8 years of this dope as our Mayor, nothing surprises me about what he says or does. We are still having to live with the consequences of his mayoralty and the UK will live with the consequences of him being Foreign Sec. Unless of course, Theresa May sacks him for one faux pas too many in the not too distant future.

  4. Roland Laycock November 17, 2016 at 10:11 am - Reply

    People will vote tory now they get what they voted for

  5. Barry Davies November 17, 2016 at 6:18 pm - Reply

    Well this is not how the rest of the world see us and Boris is correct they want to put tariffs on us they will have the same tariffs they do sell proseco to us but it shows a lack of understanding to assume we sell anyone fish and chips who doesn’t live in the UK, it reflects badly on the Italian really.

  6. casalealex November 17, 2016 at 8:04 pm - Reply

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britain-faces-being-laughing-stock-8416990?ptnr_rid=%20&icid=EM_Mirror_Nletter_DailyNews_News_smallteaser_Text_Story1

    Britain faces being a laughing stock after Boris Johnson is made Foreign Secretary by Theresa May
    Theresa puts her Darling Buddies of May (and Boris Johnson) in top jobs

    Boorish goes from one fiasco to the next without a care in the world…..

  7. shawn November 18, 2016 at 12:53 am - Reply

    A could example of using the ‘every British house wife knows’ analogy amongst people who are not as economically illiterate as most British citizens. That it’s a problem x 27 for you and a one 27th one for us.

  8. NMac November 18, 2016 at 9:24 am - Reply

    Stripped of his totally false and immature buffoonery Johnson is nothing more than a very untalented and mediocre politician. He has been described as a third-rate newspaper columnist. Personally I think that over rates him, but it must be close to reality.

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