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Photos hurt Labour cause in UK: Swiss take

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Photos hurt Labour cause in UK: Swiss take
Ed Miliband: unflattering pictures caught Swiss media attention. Photo: AFP

Blick, the tabloid newspaper with Switzerland’s biggest readership, has a graphic take on the surprise result of the UK election that saw the Conservative party defy the polls by retaining power: It’s the mugshots wot done it.

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On its website, the daily on Friday posted a collection of the unflattering photos of Labour leader Ed Miliband that Britain’s right-wing press was only to happy to print.

Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun re-published an old snapshot of Miliband awkwardly eating a bacon sandwich on its front page on Wednesday with the headline: “This is the pig’s ear Ed made of a helpless sarnie.”

The paper warned: “In 48 hours, he could be doing the same to Britain.”

Blick pointed out that the UK press had ridiculed Miliband with multiple photos emphasizing unusual facial expressions that did not show the 45-year-old politician to advantage.

It highlighted a tweet to illustrate:

The Labour leader announced that he was stepping down after his party’s disastrous performance and the unexpected victory of David Cameron’s Tories in what was supposed to be a neck-and-neck race.

In the aftermath of the vote, many in the Swiss media were focused on Cameron’s pledge to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union.

Peter Nonnenmacher, London correspondent of Tagesanzeiger, also drew attention to the success of the Scottish National Party, which won a landslide in Scotland, a former Labour stronghold, and the likelihood now of a new independence referendum there.

Related: UK ELECTION RESULT SPOTLIGHTS GERMANY'S ROLE IN EU 

Nonnenmacher, pointed out that many Tories want the UK to leave the EU while the SNP favours Scotland staying in the European bloc.

The Neuer Zürcher Zeitung described the Tory victory as a “sensation”, given the disparity of election results with opinion polls that showed much stronger Labour support.

The Zurich daily said the possibility of a “Brexit” — a British exit from the EU — will likely provide a lot of uncertainty.

Le Matin newspaper echoed the unexpected nature of the UK results, noting that apart from marking a devastating defeat for the Labour party they were also a slap in the face for British pollsters who had all predicted a closer result.

See also: DANISH PM'S HUSBAND WINS UK SEAT and WILL UK ELECTION FORCE BRITS FROM SWEDEN?

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