European and British media respond to Theresa May as new Prime Minister

A lot has changed in Britain in the last two weeks. Since the referendum we’ve had resignations from the leaders of two political parties, a leadership challenge launched against Jeremy Corbyn, and now a new Prime Minister in the form of Theresa May. Media outlets across both the UK and Europe have responded to this most recent piece of news. 

Tuesday’s Sun front page:
Heel, boys#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/Qfu2IgqCzb

— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) July 11, 2016

Typically, the Sun chose to concentrate on May’s well known choice of footwear,  also predicting that she will have a soothing impact on an otherwise conflict ridden Conservative party.

Tuesday’s Daily Mirror:
An early election?
Bring it on… #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/7LOwhjqk37
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) July 11, 2016

The Daily Mirror challenged Theresa May to an early general election, based on the ultimatum she set Gordon Brown when he became Prime Minister in similar circumstances in 2007. Many commentators on Twitter were baffled by the suggestion of an early election however, questioning the motives of a left leaning paper given the current state of the Labour party.

 

Tomorrow’s Daily Telegraph front page: Best deal for Britain pic.twitter.com/yWbq3huLsx
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 11, 2016

 

Tuesday’s Independent digital front page:
Yes, Prime Minister#tomorrowspaperstoday#bbcpaperspic.twitter.com/mse0FzCoLK
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) July 11, 2016

Within the UK press, the fault lines were drawn based on how much emphasis to put on May’s ‘short cut’ to power: the fact that after Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the leadership race, May was uncontested and so became Prime Minister without a vote from Conservative party members. The Telegraph made no mention of this, and for the Independent it was the focal point of the front page.

Across Europe

Leaving the EU has caused financial instability, weakened the Union and given rise to the far right across Europe: given this, European newspapers have, by and large, responded to Theresa May’s new position with relief. May is seen as a figure of stability and, having moulded herself as a one nation, ‘small c’ conservative, seems to have assuaged concerns that a power vacuum in Britain could see the rise of more extreme candidates. The BBC has translated responses from some key publications:

Und ganz bestimmt hätte die @welt bei einem Mann die Anzugschuhe auf dem Titel gezeigt. #TheresaMay pic.twitter.com/iYfS4y2uZL

— Rieke Havertz (@havpost) July 12, 2016

A major theme across the media coverage in Europe is that of May as the new Margaret Thatcher, with many also drawing comparisons between herself and Angela Merkel. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera describes her as “a bit of Merkel, a bit of Thatcher” while Il Timpo, another Italian paper, notes that she has laid out her priorities for post-Brexit Britain “with the enthusiasm and determination of a woman who has already been dubbed the new Thatcher”.

Like much of the British press, publications across Europe have paid homage to May’s colourful choice of footwear, such as German newspaper Die Welt. Spanish newspaper El Mundo attributes her to having “high heels, firm step, absolute control, total loyalty”.

Thanks to the BBC’s Nick Sutton for the front page images.