May’s meltdown: the verdict in the German press

Theresa May had hoped her Conservative conference speech would not only paper over the cracks within her own party but also strengthen her Brexit negotiating position ahead of a crucial EU summit later this month. In around two weeks, EU leaders will gather in Brussels to decide whether to commence trade negotiations with the UK. The key player in this decision, as always, will be Germany. However, it would seem that Theresa May’s conference speech has done little to convince the Germans of her political nous. Here’s how the German press reacted to Theresa May’s conference speech:

The country’s largest broadsheet, Süddeutsche Zeitung, says Theresa May’s keynote speech should have been an ‘act of liberation’. However, according to the newspaper, her gaffe-filled address turned her into a ‘metaphor of her own weakness’. Süddeutsche Zeitung notes that even ‘disloyal Cabinet members’ applauded generously in order to give their leader time to recover. The paper suggests that May’s revelation that her government is preparing for a no-deal Brexit shows she ‘suspects she has lost’ her career-defining struggle with the European Union.