International News

LONDON, July 13, (APP/AFP) – Theresa May, who took
over as Britain’s new prime minister on Wednesday charged with pulling the country out of the EU, caused surprise by immediately appointing leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson as foreign minister.
May replaced David Cameron as Conservative leader after he stood down
following the seismic vote to leave the European Union on June 23, which
sparked three weeks of intense political turmoil and volatility on financial
markets.
May, who had supported Britain’s continued EU membership, moved quickly to heal divisions sparked by the referendum by appointing leading “Leave” campaigner Johnson to a senior cabinet post.
The decision to name Johnson, the eccentric former mayor of London, to the high-profile post of foreign secretary is likely to cause controversy.
Johnson led the Brexit camp to victory, antagonising many EU leaders in the process, but dismayed many of his supporters by pulling out of the race to succeed Cameron at the last minute.
In another key appointment, May named former foreign minister Philip
Hammond as her new finance minister, with the job of calming fears over the
economic fall-out of leaving Britain’s biggest market.
She named former Europe minister David Davis, another “Leave” campaigner, as the minister charged with implementing Britain’s exit.
EU leaders are pressing for a swift divorce following the vote to leave the bloc, which sent shockwaves around the world, although May has refused to be rushed.
– ‘Burning injustice’ –
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European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was among the first to offer his congratulations to May, and said he hoped they would meet “in the near future”.
“The outcome of the United Kingdom’s referendum has created a new situation which the United Kingdom and the European Union will have to address soon,” he said.
May, who is just the second female prime minister after Margaret Thatcher, has stressed that she will honour the popular vote, saying repeatedly that “Brexit means Brexit”.
After formally being invited to form a government in a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, May arrived at her new Downing Street residence with a promise to tackle “burning injustice”.
“Following the referendum we face a time of great national change. And I know because we’re Great Britain that we will rise to the challenge,” she told reporters, flanked by her husband, Philip.
“As we leave the European Union we will forge a bold new positive role for ourselves in the world. And we will make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for everyone of us.”
May said keeping the “precious” United Kingdom together was also a priority after the referendum, in which Scots voted to stay in the EU but England and Wales voted to leave, raised the fresh prospect of Scotland breaking away.
– Political stability –
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May’s appointment, after a brief leadership contest in the governing
Conservative party, brings some stability after a period of political disarray, which has also sparked a leadership challenge in the opposition Labour party.
Investors will be watching May’s first days in office closely but with greater optimism as the value of the pound, which fell by up to 15 percent against the dollar after the Brexit vote, rallied in recent days.
On Thursday, the Bank of England will announce whether it will cut interest rates for the first time in more than seven years to curb the economic fallout from Brexit.
May is something of an unknown quantity internationally, but European
Council president Donald Tusk said he looked forward to a “fruitful working
relationship” with her.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready for “constructive
dialogue” with Britain’s new leader.
May campaigned for the leadership as a safe pair of hands, after spending six years as home secretary, one of the toughest jobs in British politics.
The daughter of a Church of England pastor, she is cricket fan with a sober demeanour who lists her hobbies as cooking and walking.
In other cabinet appointments announced Wednesday, Michael Fallon will stay on as defence minister, and former energy minister Amber Rudd replaces May at the interior.
– ‘I was the future, once’ –
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Earlier, Cameron had made his final statement in Downing Street flanked by his wife Samantha and three children, where he wished Britain “continued success”.
“It’s not been an easy journey and, of course, we’ve not got every decision right but I do believe today our country is much stronger,” the 49-year-old said.
Cameron had called the referendum and campaigned to stay in the EU in a bid to try to heal divisions in his Conservative party. He gambled, and he lost.
In his final question and answer session in the House of Commons, Cameron echoed a line he had once used to taunt former Labour premier Tony Blair.
“As I once said, I was the future, once,” he said.
He urged his successor, “a brilliant negotiator”, to “try to be as close to the European Union as we can be, for the benefits of trade, of co-operation and of security”.