Europe’s media look on in bemusement at post-Brexit ‘revolving door’ of UK prime ministers | Keir Starmer

In Germany, Downing Street has been likened to a transit station as different prime ministers and staff come and go regularly. Meanwhile, a puzzled Spanish newspaper concluded that No. 10 appeared to be equipped with a revolving door.

As news organizations across Europe digest the fallout from Keir Starmer’s meteoric fall from landslide election victory to ousted prime minister, many have also focused on a wider reality: Britain’s once-much-vaunted political stability is a thing of the past.

Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia said, “Keir Starmer’s resignation confirms that instability is the new normal in British politics.” “Downing Street seems to have a revolving door.”

His assessment was reflected throughout Europe. Analysis by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung asked the question usually asked of English managers. “An impossible task? Even before Keir Starmer’s successor has been chosen, it is clear that many are failing at the task,” he said.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, along with other leading European figures, have been open about the role of Brexit in both Starmer’s death and the state of UK politics. “Discontent within his party and the consequences of Brexit have made office difficult for Starmer,” he said.

Spain’s El País’ analysis, part of a special article on “the political crisis in Britain”, was more blunt. “Brexit broken promises have made things worse,” said the headline. “Neither the economy nor the welfare state is in better shape, but the political right that drives it is stronger than ever.”

The accompanying political commentary was equally blunt. “Just a century ago [the UK] “It was competing with the USA for global hegemony,” he said, and continued: “Today, its economy is weakening. “His politics is in tatters.”

There was an article in France’s Libération detailing “10 years of Brexit and a huge waste”.

In the analysis on the front page of Børsen in Denmark, it was stated that Starmer was “chased by both the recent and distant past”.

A comment in the newspaper said, “The British prime minister has grappled with problems of his own making, but also largely with the consequences of Brexit.” “This week marks 10 years since Britons voted to leave the EU and now they have their seventh head of government since the referendum.”

German-language news magazine Der Spiegel made the headline “Downing Street transit station”, comparing the prime minister’s residence to a busy railway junction.

The report describing the departures of recent incumbents stated: “A gambler [David Cameron]a populist [Boris Johnson]head of government for six weeks [Liz Truss]: Even in the years before Keir Starmer, the position of British prime minister was a hot seat.”

Despite Britain’s now-acrimonious history of prime ministerial departures, Germany’s liberal-leaning Süddeutsche Zeitung found something new in the pace of Starmer’s decline.

“The British long for someone to give them hope,” the message read. “Keir Starmer was honest with them. It’s not unusual for things to go wrong between the public and the government. But the speed at which the prime minister turns into the bad guy is astounding.”

Libération concluded that Starmer was brought to power “through voters’ rejection of the Conservatives rather than through support for his own programme” and that his leadership collapsed due to his own disagreements and contradictions.

However, there were some sympathetic takes on Starmer’s tenure, including in the liberal-leaning Dutch newspaper Trouw.

“After Starmer, Labor needs a prime minister to pat itself on the back,” said one analysis, arguing that Starmer’s achievements went unnoticed due to poor political communication skills.

“His successor should take office before September,” he said. “The New Labor leader will need to be better able to claim credit for achievements.”

Given the forces that have unseated so many prime ministers since the Brexit vote, a commentary piece in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung did not expect much change with Andy Burnham’s recent rise to prominence.

Its title was simply: “New head, old problems.”