World media have reacted with disbelief to Dominic Cummings’ defence of his trip to Durham, saying that what the “machiavellian” adviser saw as reasonable behaviour did not appear so to many and risked damaging not just Boris Johnson’s government but democracy. “No regrets, no excuses, no resignations … Il ne regrette rien,” said Libération, telling the story of “an extraordinary press conference during which Dominic Cummings confirmed that he had rewritten for himself the rules of the lockdown laid down by the government for which he works”. Only once did the prime minister’s chief adviser appear confused, the French paper said, “almost taken aback by the question. Why no, he had not ‘offered his resignation, or even thought of offering it’, because he had absolutely no idea why he should have. Over and over again he repeated: ‘I acted reasonably’.” Of Cummings’ Easter jaunt to Barnard Castle, undertaken – by his account – to check that his eyesight was up to the journey back to London, Libération remarked: “To many, driving 30 miles with blurred vision and a four-year-old in the back might not be considered entirely reasonable. But not, apparently, to Dominic Cummings.” Le Monde was equally astonished. “Usually, special advisers remain in the shadows,” it said. “At worst, when things go wrong, they quit. They never speak in public ... But for more than an hour, Cummings delivered his version of the facts, assuring all that he had ‘acted reasonably’, without breaking the rules.” There was “no question of apologising. At most, he conceded one or two minor errors … But will the operation have been successful? It will, in any case, have shown how deeply Cummings wants to keep his job. And how deeply Boris Johnson cares about this very special special adviser.” Spain’s El País said Cummings was meant to be “the breath of fresh, irreverent air that was going to help Boris Johnson design a new country after Brexit”. But the adviser’s “refusal to express any remorse for breaking the lockdown rules has caused a political gale that may irreparably damage the prime minister’s political credibility”. Johnson’s “machiavellian henchman is asking for a display of understanding and empathy that at another time, and for another person, might have seemed humane and reasonable”, the paper said. “But Cummings has left a trail of political enemies along the way, and the patience of British public opinion is at breaking point. The adviser so famously capable of scenting the mood of the people has not grasped that sometimes a resignation is not fair or unfair, but necessary to protect a superior.” In Germany, Die Welt described a “bizarre” event at which “the second most powerful man in Westminster after Boris Johnson … refused to step down or even apologise, despite massive criticism of his trip to relatives during the coronavirus crisis. Cummings could have irreparably damaged confidence in the government.” The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said Cummings had “gone down in history as the first adviser to give a live press conference in Downing Street”. Usually, the paper said, “political advisers work for the government. In Cummings’ case, it is ministers who work for the adviser: one after another has been sent out to defend him.” Whether the adviser’s trip broke the rules “remains a matter of interpretation,” the paper said, but there was no denying the extent of “the outrage that has shaken the country in the past few days. Not just politicians and commentators, but academics and churchmen – all echoing the chorus of citizens demanding Cummings go.” In the Netherlands, NRC Handelsblad said Johnson was now stuck with “a growing problem. Firing Cummings, even temporarily, would remove his right hand – and Johnson’s most important ministers were appointed because of their views on Brexit, not their expert special knowledge or leadership experience.” But keeping him “is equally dangerous”, the paper said. “It will show the British public that they do not need to observe the lockdown rules so strictly. And in that case, the authority of the Johnson government will crumble yet further.”
Beyond Europe, Australia’s The Age said Cummings’ press conference had “compounded his difficulties in a manner reminiscent of Prince Andrew’s catastrophic BBC interview in November”. Of the trip to Barnard Castle “to test whether his eyes were working properly”, it asked: “After setting himself up as examiner and examinee, what were other drivers on the open road to do if he failed his own assessment?” In a crisis such as the coronavirus, the paper said, “those who wield power − especially when they do so largely behind the scenes − cannot be exempted from accountability for their actions. In arguing, as Cummings has, that his is an exceptional case, he has given the impression he is beyond reproach. That is not a healthy position for anyone in a democracy to occupy.”