German and French newspapers have branded Theresa May and her ministers the “Quartet of the Clueless” for their “dawdling” approach to the ongoing Brexit talks.
The left-leaning Suddeutsche Zeitung ran the headline ‘May and her ministers stumble into Brexit’, accusing the Prime Minister of being “the worst election campaigner the island has ever witnessed” who is “clinging to power”.
Meanwhile Bild said the British negotiating team was “dawdling” and “blocking” the talks and Tagesspiegel said the team appeared it had “not grasped the situation”.
The Luzerner Zeitung headlined insisted the whole process was “stuck in a dead end”.
And over in France, Liberation tweeted:
Brexit: The tone rises in the dialogue of the deaf
But it was the Suddeutsche Zeitung article that hit hardest (you can read an full translation of the piece here), commenting on May, Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and David Davis individually as:
Theresa May
She promised ‘strong and stable leadership’ which seems all the more bizarre when you see how she is manoeuvring now, always looking as if she is anticipating the moment when the conspirators emerge from behind the scenes to kick her out.
Boris Johnson
The biggest opportunist in all of Westminster, always driven by the desire to replace the Prime Minister himself. He has proven unsuitable for the post of top diplomat... international colleagues do not take him seriously
David Davis
Strikingly lazy... [he] works only three to four days a week and can not be reached on weekends because he has no phone signal.
And poor Liam Fox
The least serious figure in this wondrous squad.
Earlier this week Michel Barnier slammed no “decisive progress” on Brexit talks in Brussels in a fractious joint press conference with David Davis in Brussels.
European Commission chief Brexit negotiator Barnier said issues of “trust” remain behind himself and Brexit Secretary Davis, before accusing the UK of a “sort of nostalgia”.
He also went on to say the two sides are still “quite far” away from being in a position to begin discussions on future trade arrangements in October.
Barnier admitted there had been “fruitful” discussions on how Britain’s divorce from the bloc would affect Ireland and Northern Ireland, but struck a pessimistic tone overall.
At a frosty joint press conference, Barnier said: “We did not get any decisive progress on any of the principal subjects.”