Germany’s leading news magazine, Der Spiegel, has risked an international incident by declaring the UK to be a country on life support. In a piece subtitled “Großbritannien in der Krise” (meaning crisis), journalist Jörg Schindler explores the palaces of Westminster and finds it is crumbling into the Thames. “The foundation of Britannia’s democracy is literally rotting away,” he writes, “a perfect symbol for the United Kingdom of today”.
Schindler then visits Blackpool, where he says “even the screeching of the seagulls sounds like a sarcastic commentary” on the town’s decline. With some relish, the piece finishes: “This country was already on its knees before Brexit ... and now, it seems as though it has dialed 999 and is waiting in vain for the paramedics to show up.”
