Brexit dominates Queen's speech
Queen Elizabeth presented the programme of Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May's government on Wednesday. Almost a third of the 27 bills deal with Britain's planned exit from the EU. Commentators examine the Queen's speech in the context of the parliamentary elections and the Brexit negotiations.
Queen's speech underlines political chaos
The Brexit was the focus of the Queen's speech but it couldn't gloss over the current political chaos, De Volkskrant comments:
“One has to wonder just who is governing in London. The answer: Brexit. The Queen's entire speech dealt with nothing else. It's the prime minister's lifeline. Almost all the domestic policy plans from May's election platform have been abandoned. ... At least one third of all draft laws have to do with leaving the EU. ... And while May comes across as powerless, Corbyn is experiencing a metamorphosis after his impressive election results. The extent to which Labour is influencing the agenda is already clear in May's decision to diverge from her planned austerity policy.”
Now parliament has the final say
British MPs will have the last word on Brexit, the New Statesman comments approvingly:
“The government remains committed to leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union and legislation (the Repeal Bill, the Trade Bill) will be introduced to this end. Yet without a majority, May can no longer claim a mandate for this stance. It is MPs, not ministers, who will determine the outcome. ... The Prime Minister called the election, despite the comfortable passage of Article 50, with the insistence that she needed a bigger mandate. Having been denied one by the voters, parliament will now seek to take back control.”