May’s election gambit could pay off

British Prime Minster Theresa May shocked the UK by calling a general election for June 8. She said the election would strengthen the government’s hand in negotiations to leave the European Union. She dismissed criticism of her move to send voters back to polling booths for the third time in two years, after a May 2015 national election and a June 2016 referendum on EU membership.
May argued that delays in beginning negotiations with the EU gave her a unique window to secure her own mandate, and said threats by opposition parties to try to undermine her Brexit stance made this necessary.
There are two circumstances for early elections: first, if two-thirds of the House of Commons vote for one; second, if the government loses a no-confidence vote and a new administration fails to win a confidence motion within 14 days. May’s decision for snap poll has won approval from lawmakers.
May has made a very calculative move as she sees an opportunity to win the election. Mindful of the Conservatives’ 21-point lead, May is betting she can extend the slim parliamentary majority her predecessor won in 2015. The election victory will free her from constraints she’s under and get her the mandate to execute the hard Brexit. May triggered two-year divorce negotiations at the end of March. The Brexit talks are off to a rocky start, with British and EU leaders disagreeing over whether exit terms should be secured before a trade deal is discussed.
The election can be big gamble and will create new difficulties for May. The election could embolden those who regret voting for Brexit in last year’s referendum and will probably increase support for independence in Scotland. It will widen divisions within the United Kingdom.
May’s decision to call an election can be a smart move too. With this, she has averted the danger of a 2020 election and won herself a room for maneuvering. Otherwise she would have been under tremendous pressure to meet the March 2019 deadline on delivering Brexit deal. And so she thought it was good to have the elections as early as possible. It will give her the freedom to negotiate the kind of Brexit she wants.
In defending her decision, May is criticizing opposition parties and to those in her own party who are dragging their feet on Brexit. She said the division jeopardized the chances of getting a good Brexit deal and accused her detractors of playing political games. “There should be unity here in Westminster, instead there is a division” May said. “The country should be coming together, but Westminster is not,” she added. May branded those who are against her as “against the country.”
But there is a flip side to the snap poll too. It puts May’s credibility at stake. Her call for early election is a reversal of her previous stance where she had rejected any chance for early poll before the current term expires in 2020. The voters might punish her for the volte-face.