New Zealand’s public broadcaster RNZ described the decision to call an early election as a “risky strategy” given that the Conservative Party is “far behind Labour in the opinion polls”.
“Mr Sunak is not only far behind Labour in the opinion polls, he is also isolated from some within his own party and goes into the election increasingly reliant on a small circle of advisers to help him navigate an ugly campaign,” the paper said.
Europe
El Mundo, one of Spain’s biggest newspapers, said the announcement “caused surprise” among Conservative Party members given recent opinion polls. It cited the latest Savanta poll, which said the Conservatives were trailing Labour by 17 points.
Under the subheading “Uncertain times are upon us,” the paper reported on Mr Sunak’s warnings about migration and ongoing conflicts that threaten “global security.”
“But the early elections have left plans to deport Rwandan asylum seekers in limbo,” the paper reported.
“The Prime Minister’s popularity is at rock bottom.”
El Mundo newspaper reported that the decision to bring forward the election was causing particular “discomfort” among the far-right wing of the Conservative Party, which described the recent local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost half of its MPs, as a “disastrous failure”. .
“The prime minister’s popularity hit a historic low in April, with 70% of Britons rating his job as ‘unsatisfactory’, matching the lowest level recorded under John Major in 1994,” the report said.
“The July 4 election, which is America’s Independence Day, will at least eliminate the possibility of interference between the two electoral processes in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election scheduled for November 5.”