Eric de la Reguera: Rishi Sunak is playing it loud when he calls the election this summer

– It is time for Great Britain to choose her future. The choice is between building on the progress we've already made and going back to square one with no plan or commitment, Rishi Sunak said outside the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday.

He did it in pouring rain — and to the sound of T:Ream's “Things Can't Get Perverted,” as a crowd of protesters blasted outside the gates.

Tony Blair came to power in 1997 – and now Labor leader Keir Starmer hopes to repeat the feat.

According to polls by Politico, Labor has about 44 percent of voters' sympathies, while Sunak's conservative Tories have just 23 percent support. Right-wing populist reform could steal votes from the UK Tories (12 percent of the polls) and the centre-right Liberal Democrats (10 percent).

No, it really isn't A somewhat simpler starting point for Sunak.

Indeed, no British prime minister has ever won a democratic election with public opinion less than three months before election day.

A regular election will be held before January 2025 – but many observers have speculated that Rishi Sunak will wait until autumn. Why insist on almost certain defeat, they thought.

The answer is probably that he sees the summer as his only chance.

Now things are being talked about in his favor.

Sunak has a lot of credit for the so-called Rwanda program, which can send asylum seekers to Rwanda. The first version of the plan was rejected by the Supreme Court, and the new version has been heavily criticized by human rights organizations and is at risk of being stalled in court.

The government still hopes that the first flight with asylum seekers will be able to go to Rwanda in June. If so, Sunak can claim in the election campaign that he did something concrete to stop the boat refugees.

At the same time there are symptoms The economy is on the road to recovery.

– Economic stability is the basis for everything, be it higher wages or better jobs, public sector investments or national security, Sunak drummed in his speech.

He emphasized that inflation has come down again. After Liz Truss' tumultuous six weeks as Prime Minister, he pointed out that he came to power precisely to protect the economy.

But that background is also Rishi Sunak's big Achilles heel.

Because he's just a substitute. He has never led the Tories in a general election.

Last time this happened, Boris Johnson was the leader of the party. Many British voters today associate him with lies about illegal parties during the pandemic.

When Liz Truss replaced Johnson, she nearly crashed the British economy.

After all, Sunak is an alternative. He has never led the Tories in a general election.

Now these two former Prime Ministers are criticizing Sunak. The conspirators of the right-wing phalanx may have already contributed to the election being called now. With every false poll the risk of a domestic vote of no confidence increases.

If Rishi Sunak is to win the July elections, he will have to perform a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, he needs to unite his divided party behind him, and on the other, he needs to find a way to convince voters that this particular party deserves another chance, despite the many scandals in recent years.

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