Update from the British Isles

Damned if she does and damned if she does not

So the long awaited poll took place and from what we gather has left many speechless. It has helped clarify
quite a number of things for Theresa May. The experts tell us that she was damned from the start if she did hold
the poll and damned if she did not hold the poll. Either way she needed to make sure she had some kind
of mandate. Had she soldiered on, she would have been questioned and challenged.
There was a sense of Deja Vu at least on this side of the activity and all i could think about was the confident
Sri Lankan head of state who called a snap election only to be ousted by his prime (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/sri-lanka-elections-150818133605788.html).
Democracy Sometimes sucks

The former Home Office head needed and still needs some kind of mandate for this is no simple
task as the Brits seek to respond to the needs of their populace. Here is where Democracy sucks. To have to make
such grave decision when the gap between two opposed parties is so slim. One of the issues that has emerged post
poll is the idea of experience. The same experts have wondered if one needs a little more than just an
office in the Home Office with some additional skill from say the Exchequer or the Foreign Office. So they have ploughed into her in this regard. But to be clear there is nothing comfortable about this divorce.
The Europeans are under pressure to deal harshly with the Brits lest they loose their momentum and the few
enthusiastic members they still have left in the Union. So the Brits need to unite under one banner. What this means
is that there is really not going to be any thing soft about the Brexit. The best that the Brits can hope for is
an extension that drags the process on and ends up causing a sense of fatigue. In addition to this a deliberate
attempt to ruin the process of May can prove fruitful if it manages to earn them time and compassion from the
European Union.
Not so gentle response from the Economist

The age old publisher has not been very kind with regard to this new leadership core. According to the magazine,
this has not been the best team in a long while (http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21723101-country-will-soon-go-bat-against-brussels-one-its-weakest-teams-decades).
They argue that the British have not had the best of choices.
And they may be some truth in this. Firstly, one should not expect great leaders unless they rise in the background of
tough times. This maybe the very thing that causes them to be great. The circumstances under which they rise
tend to form the leaders. Secondly, the same seems to be the case in the now more experimental France
as well as Holland and the U.S where the populace has not really sat down to chose with ease but have been
forced to chose between the better of two evils.
A response to circumstance

It is not easy to understand what drove the response from the British but there is some evidence that a major split
is increasing between the young and the aged. The former were more responsive this time around and may
have been responsible for Mr. Corbyn's success. The generational split is therefore symptomatic of more to come
and of a handover between the generations that is not taking place. All eyes are on the French and Macron who is
re-writing French history as a one year old party "marches" on to victory. Why these kinds of movements have failed in duopolies like the U.S is a story for another day. Additional troubles have arisen in Conservative strongholds (extremely wealthy) which have voted for Labour (traditionally working class party).
The Americans

There is a possibility that the Americans saw this coming and the relationship between the two will strengthen. The Brits need to have an economic relationship that can fill in an gaps that they may appear after the exit. The challenge will be in making deals with the great 'deal maker' who at this point still has a soft spot for the English. While for some its seems like a descent into madness in slow motion, there are reasons to be hopeful. This side of the hemisphere we had visits from more contrite colonial masters who were looking to revive old deals as well as revive commonwealth sentiments.
Skapegoats
 
Taking the blame for the troubles in the party and jettisoning staff members may work for now but what the party needs more that anything is unity for the whole. There is some nobility in falling on your sword and this is even sounding like a page out of an Asian Playbook. Contrition is great but this latest appeal to party-mates seems like a frightening return to a strategy that failed during the elections when the whole fight was turned into a personal fight and not a broader fight for the party. This was no presidential election they said so refusing her from making it about her should also apply this side of the broader election loss. The electorate is no longer the same passive group of 'hoodwinkable-knownothings' that can be lulled into passivity. They will respond with the vote and reject all those who are perceived as not having Britain at heart. There is a revolution in the first world and it has everything to do with the ballot box.