May’s ‘snap’ election

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s dropped a bombshell last week – snap polls in the country in June. That means the next British election is only seven weeks away. PM May has refused a televised debate, which has irked the opposition as well as much of the public. If May is not to clarify the new mandate she is seeking, then what is the principle on which the election is being called? It must be said that there is no necessity of clarifying the mandate. The Brexit vote itself was made by a public that was unclear on what exactly it was voting for. The Conservative Party may be confident but it is severely underestimating the challenge that the Labour and other smaller parties can offer. Already, Scotland has demanded another independence referendum for the country. May’s attempt to show unity in the UK is likely to backfire much like the hubris shown by David Cameron in calling for the Brexit vote. May’s announcement that ‘every vote’ for her party would help her in the EU exit negotiations is a damp squib. The example of Greece is one that must be remembered. The country decisively voted against the stringent conditions imposed by the EU and IMF for a bailout before being forced to accept even more stringent conditions.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with Theresa May’s decision to call an election. The trouble is that the decision accepts that the current UK government no longer held a mandate after the Brexit vote. If this is true, then May must offer a good explanation for why an election was not called immediately after the resignation of former British prime minister David Cameron. May has triggered the Exit Clause in the European Union laws – something that she apparently does not have the mandate to do. The British PMs decision comes from a place of confidence in the Conservative Party’s ability to win itself a bigger mandate, but there is little on the ground evidence to believe this. May’s attempt to gain a more unified mandate is unlikely to succeed but it paints a dangerous picture. There was a need to bring the British people together through strong and inclusive leadership, instead of calling another election to divide them further apart. It must be remembered that 48 percent of the British public voted against Brexit. Any elected leadership cannot put their opinion to the side when charting the path forward. This is not an election that Britain needs. But in the absence of mature leadership, it is the British public that will have to show maturity come election day.