{"id":654116,"date":"2026-06-23T14:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T14:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/654116\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T14:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T14:24:10","slug":"europes-media-look-on-in-bemusement-at-post-brexit-revolving-door-of-uk-prime-ministers-keir-starmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/654116\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s media look on in bemusement at post-Brexit \u2018revolving door\u2019 of UK prime ministers | Keir Starmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Germany, Downing Street was likened to a transit station, given the regular comings and goings of different prime ministers and staff. Meanwhile, a bemused Spanish newspaper concluded No 10 seemed to have been fitted with a revolving door.<\/p>\n

As news outlets across Europe digested the implications of Keir Starmer\u2019s precipitous fall from landslide election winner to ousted prime minister<\/a>, many also focused on a wider reality \u2013 Britain\u2019s once much vaunted political stability was a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeir Starmer\u2019s resignation confirms instability is the new normal in British politics,\u201d noted the Spanish daily La Vanguardia. \u201cDowning Street seems to have a revolving door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s La Vanguardia said the UK had gone from a beacon of stability to a revolving door of politics. Photograph: acorujo\/web<\/p>\n

Its assessment was reflected across Europe<\/a>. An analysis for Germany\u2019s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung asked the question usually reserved for England football managers. \u201cAn impossible job? Even before a successor for Keir Starmer has been chosen, it\u2019s clear: many fail at the task,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Along with other prominent European titles, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung was explicit about Brexit\u2019s role in both Starmer\u2019s demise and the state of UK politics. \u201cDiscontent within his party and the consequences of Brexit<\/a> made the office difficult for Starmer,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n

An analysis by Spain\u2019s El Pa\u00eds \u2013 part of a special feature on \u201cthe political crisis in Britain\u201d \u2013 was more blunt. \u201cThe broken promises of a Brexit that made everything worse,\u201d the headline stated. \u201cNeither the economy nor the welfare state are better off, but the same political right that drove it is stronger than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

An accompanying political commentary was equally frank. \u201cOnly a century ago [the UK] was competing with the United States for global hegemony,\u201d it said. \u201cToday its economy languishes. Its politics are in tatters.\u201d<\/p>\n

France\u2019s Lib\u00e9ration had a piece detailing \u201c10 years of Brexit and an immense waste\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lib\u00e9ration said Brexit had been \u2018an immense waste\u2019. Photograph: web<\/p>\n

The analysis on Denmark\u2019s B\u00f8rsen\u2019s front page said Starmer had been \u201cchased down by both the recent and the distant past\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe British prime minister has struggled with problems of his own making, but also to a large extent with the consequences of Brexit,\u201d said a commentary inside the newspaper . \u201cThis week marks 10 years since Britons voted to leave the EU \u2013 and they are now getting their seventh head of government since the referendum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Der Spiegel, the German-language news magazine, had the headline \u201cDowning Street transit station\u201d, comparing the prime ministerial residence to a bustling railway interchange.<\/p>\n

Recounting the departures of recent incumbents, it stated: \u201cA gambler [David Cameron], a populist [Boris Johnson], a 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Britain\u2019s now blighted history of prime ministerial departures, Germany\u2019s liberal-leaning S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung did find something novel in the sheer pace of Starmer\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe British yearn for someone who gives them hope,\u201d it read. \u201cKeir Starmer was honest with them. It\u2019s not uncommon for things to go wrong between the people and the government. But the speed with which the prime minister became a villain is astonishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lib\u00e9ration concluded Starmer had been brought to power \u201cmore by voters\u2019 rejection of the Conservatives than by support for his own programme\u201d, with his leadership collapsing under its own controversies and contradictions.<\/p>\n

There were some sympathetic takes on Starmer\u2019s tenure, however, including from Trouw, the liberal-leaning Dutch newspaper.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter Starmer, Labour needs a prime minister who pats himself on the back more,\u201d an analysis stated, arguing Starmer\u2019s achievements had gone unnoticed due to his poor political communication skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis successor must be in office before September,\u201d it said. \u201cThat new Labour leader will need to be better able to claim credit for successes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the forces that have dislodged so many prime ministers since the Brexit vote, a comment piece for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung did not expect much to change with Andy Burnham\u2019s imminent elevation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Its headline simply read: \u201cNew head, old problems.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Germany, Downing Street was likened to a transit station, given the regular comings and goings of different…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-654116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}