Here's exactly what Boris Johnson said in that Sunday Telegraph article interview today:
The whole thing began with the Roman Empire. I wrote a book on this subject, and I think it’s probably right. The truth is that the history of the last couple of thousand years has been broadly repeated attempts by various people or institutions – in a Freudian way – to rediscover the lost childhood of Europe, this golden age of peace and prosperity under the Romans, by trying to unify it. Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically.
The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods. But fundamentally what it is lacking is the eternal problem, which is that there is no underlying loyalty to the idea of Europe. There is no single authority that anybody respects or understands. That is causing this massive democratic void.
The Sunday Telegraph then splashed a sensationalist front page headline about it:
And the BBC has followed suit, with a vengeance:
And BBC Breakfast has been going hammer-and-tongs at the story too:
Main News headline (7.00): A political row as Boris Johnson compares the ambitions of the European Union to those of Hitler. The Remain campaign accuses him of a shameful lack of judgement after a newspaper interview in which the former Mayor of London said both had similar aims.
(7.02) Ben: First our main story. Boris Johnson has compared the EU to Hitler, saying it wants to create a powerful superstate.Naga: The former Mayor of London, who's a leading member of the Vote Leave groups, says the EU is similar to the Nazi dictator because it aims to unify Europe under one political government. The Labour MP and Remain campaigner Yvette Cooper has accused Mr. Johnson of playing "a nasty game". Let's talk to our political correspondent Carole Walker. It is getting a bit nasty, isn't it Carole? Morning.Carole: Yes, good morning, Boris Johnson is known for his colourful language but these marks are certainly going to provoke quite a storm.
Paper review (7.20) Naga: We'll take a look at the front pages first of all. Let's begin with the Sunday Telegraph. It has a look at...Boris Johnson: "How the EU wants a superstate, as Hitler did". Now, there's lots of criticism about the language that Boris Johnson has used in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph. He's warned that while bureaucrats in Brussels are using different methods from the Nazi dictator Hitler they share the aim of unifying Europe under one authority. And this, of course, has sparked much retribution.
Main News headline (8.00): A political row as Boris Johnson compares the ambitions of the European Union to those of Hitler. The Remain campaign accuses him of a shameful lack of judgement after a newspaper interview in which the former Mayor of London said both had similar aims.
(8.02) Ben: First our main story. Boris Johnson has compared the EU to Hitler, saying it wants to create a powerful superstate.Naga: The former Mayor of London, who's a leading member of the Vote Leave groups, says the EU is similar to the Nazi dictator because it aims to unify Europe under only one political government. Ben: Well. the Labour MP and Remain campaigner Yvette Cooper has accused Mr. Johnson of playing "a nasty game". Let's speak to talk our political correspondent Carole Walker. Carole, just explain for us just exactly what Mr. Johnson said here.Carole: Well, Boris Johnson is known for his colourful language but certainly I think there's going to be quite a storm over this remark.
Am I the only one who things Boris is being 'more spun against than spinning' here?(8.13) Naga: Adolf Hitler and the European Union. Different methods to achieve the same aims. That's according to Boris Johnson in a newspaper interview this morning.Ben: Yes, the former Mayor of London and leading Vote Leave campaigner says that, like Hitler, the EU wants to see Europe unified under a single under a single political authority.Naga: Now, his words have provoked an angry response from the Labour MP and Remain campaigner Yvette Cooper. She's accused Mr. Johnson of playing "a nasty game" and "desperately seeking headlines".
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Update: Or to put it another way...
There’s been a rather typical response from the Beeb regarding an article Boris Johnson has penned for today’s Telegraph. Boris, being a classical historian, gave a very long range view of what has happened in Europe back to the times of the Roman Empire. And he happened to mention that both Napoleon and Hitler had tried, unsuccessfully, to create a one state Europe. At no point in the piece did he write that the EU is like Hitler.
It’s absolutely clear what he means but of of course those desperate and irritating Remainiacs like Yvette Cooper have to stick their oar in and fake outrage. I’m not at all surprised at Cooper and co manufacturing offence, I mean, what else does she do? What is sinister though is that the BBC run with the headline, “Boris likens EU to Hitler.”
It’s nonsense! They know it, we know it and that appalling creature Yvette Cooper knows it.
It really is too bad.
It’s absolutely clear what he means but of of course those desperate and irritating Remainiacs like Yvette Cooper have to stick their oar in and fake outrage. I’m not at all surprised at Cooper and co manufacturing offence, I mean, what else does she do? What is sinister though is that the BBC run with the headline, “Boris likens EU to Hitler.”
It’s nonsense! They know it, we know it and that appalling creature Yvette Cooper knows it.
It really is too bad.
Well, the EU does have a problem with Jews these days....
ReplyDeleteThe problem for the BBC is they don't know which way this is going to go...Any other politician might be mortally wounded by this sort of attack, but you know Boris can punch back as hard as he's hit, and often harder. It will bringing into public view precisely the sort of thing that the Remainiacs do NOT want focussed on, that there is a Euro Superstate project and there always has been. And as long as we stay in the Union, eventually we will be a part of it, even if in a semi-detached sort of way.
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