UNITED STATES
Washington Post
“If the election produced an unexpectedly clear outcome, it may only have heightened the degree to which the country faces a period of internal debate, inward-looking politics and potential instability, with questions about the durability of the United Kingdom and its place in both Europe and the world still to be answered.”
New York Times
“In recent years, Britain has taken a back seat to Germany and France on European issues like the Greek economic crisis or the Russian annexation of Ukraine, and an exit from the union would further distance Britain from a role in setting European policy on these and other issues like immigration, the environment or energy. That, in turn, would inevitably have an effect on Britain’s ties to Nato and the United States.”
GERMANY
Der Spiegel
“Despite the surprisingly clear election victory, [Cameron] is weakened in the new parliamentary term. For Europe, this is fatal because the referendum on the Brexit will come now. David Cameron is only a half-winner of this election.
“He becomes prime minister again, but it looks like his Conservatives come, if at all, only just on a majority. He is dependent on the discipline of his party members.”
ITALY
Panorama, current affairs magazine
“The vote of 2015 has resulted in two personal triumphs - David Cameron’s but also Nicola Sturgeon’s, the leader of the Scottish SNP. This suggests that the UK has not one but two leaders and is marching to two different tunes.
“The future belongs to David Cameron, but it also belongs to the Scots, which reveals that the filing away of the ‘Scottish question’ after the referendum was premature. So we are going to see whether two countries, which have different ideas about politics, can live together in a parliament where today Scotland counts.” Luciano Trinnanzi
FRANCE
Libération
“The British woke up on Saturday to a political landscape that was completely topsy turvy, with a 100% Conservative government faced with three parties in ruins and the debate dominated by the question of the UK’s membership of the EU and Scottish independence.
“The unexpected scale of the victory… cannot, however, hide the immense challenges awaiting the re-elected prime minister who is confronted with the chilling prospect of his country shattering. The crushing victory of the Conservatives, combined with the fiasco of an opposition that has been decapitated, has for the moment, confirmed the prime minister as above any threat.”
AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
“On the right of politics, a bigger party swallowed its junior partner whole. On the left, a smaller party bit a huge, painful chunk from its larger rival ... The result was a stronger Conservative party – in terms of the number of MPs. In historic terms, this was a poor vote share.
“But without its coalition partner, Cameron’s government emerges paradoxically weakened. It has mustered a thin majority, against expectations. But any vote could be upset by a few fractious backbenchers, well aware of the power they now wield.”
