Europe’s nul-point politicians: inside the 22 May Weekly
Starmer, Merz and Macron all at sea. Plus: Trump’s empty Chinese takeaway
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After a week like Keir Starmer just had, what could one possibly do to cheer up the beleaguered UK prime minister? (Aside from his beloved winning the Premier League title, that is.)
Perhaps remind him he’s not Friedrich Merz or Emmanuel Macron. Starmer may not be flavour of the month with UK voters or his own Labour MPs right now, but both the German and French leaders have barrel-scraping approval ratings that make the British PM look popular in comparison.
Even among the less-disliked European leaders, Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Pedro Sánchez of Spain are only marginally more liked than Donald Trump is in the US – and neither of them have started a war in Iran.
What’s behind this widespread disaffection for Europe’s leaders? Are they a generationally bad crop of politicians or have they been dealt an impossible hand of social and economic circumstances – or is it a mixture of both?
For our cover story this week, John Harris asks what Europe’s embattled leaders can do to reverse that sinking feeling. Then, from our UK political team, Jessica Elgot and Peter Walker look back on a week when Starmer was left looking increasingly like an interim PM.
Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | Xi rolled out the red carpet for Trump, but that was all
There was no swift end to the Iran war, uncertainty over Taiwan and only vague outlines of commercial deals – but the US president at least got to bask in the company of his Chinese counterpart, reports David Smith.
Technology | Despite rise of AI, is there still hope for Europe’s translators?
A booming tech sector has disrupted translation jobs in publishing – but they could be needed for a while longer yet, writes Sarah Shaffi.
Feature | The sinister spread of France’s killer seaweed
After a series of deaths on the beaches of Brittany, one bereaved family set out to prove the foul-smelling bloom was to blame. Hannah McGivern investigates.
Opinion | Normalising Reform UK’s ideas turns neighbour against neighbour
“Concern” about immigration has now morphed into policing how ethnic minorities exist in our communities, argues Shaminder Nahal.
Culture | How Backrooms upended the horror movie
It started off just as a creepy picture on the internet. Now it’s the year’s freakiest film. Wendy Ide meets its auteur, Kane Parsons, and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve.
What else we’ve been reading
’s new list of 1000 books to read provoked extensive discussion in my household. How many have you read? I won’t embarrass myself by divulging my own total, except to admit there is considerable catching up to be done. Graham Snowdon, editor
Politidex is a Pokémon-like mobile phone game where players can build their own political party by “catching” local councillors and MPs. Having started life as an April Fools’ Day joke, the game’s mission is now to humanise both politics and politicians, explains Bowie Qiu, Marketing manager.
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