Theresa May read the tea leaves wrong. Pollsters two months ago had her perched to get a mega-majority if she called a snap election. Predicated on a mandate to strongly negotiate Brexit, she did so. It was partly political but it seemed to be a shrewd move. As election day approached the popular support numbers for the conservatives tanked and May has barely hung on to maintain a coalition government with the pro-Brexit DUP party.
It turns out the move by May was a political blunder, but to be fair, it was one she didn't see coming. It will be interesting to see what the post analysis brings out. Did ultra-leftist Corbyn bring out, a la Obama, a stronger than anticipated youth contingent of voters? Or did, as the British MSM seemed to expound, lose popularity as people got to know her better? At least an aggressive Brexit negotiation is still on track, but the election really feels like a badly missed opportunity for the Tories (conservatives) in the U.K. to strengthen their position for the next several years. But in every problem there is opportunity.
Expect an emboldened Corbyn to be even more outrageous than he has previously and with that exposure comes the opportunity to paint him as the extremist that he really is, setting May (or her successor) up for a strong victory next time around.
For a great analysis of the results themselves, check out the Legal Insurrection take here.
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