outside the regularly scheduled one., if they think it will be advantageous.
...why has the PM called an election that is almost certain to lose? For months, polls have placed Sunak’s Conservative Party way behind the opposition Labour Party and, as things stand, Labour leader Keir Starmer is set to not only win power but have a massive parliamentary majority.
The answer to that question is simple: it’s very unlikely there will be a better time. Almost everything Sunak tries seems to backfire, and it’s not implausible that his favorability with the public will get even worse before the end of the year.
The past couple of days have been relatively good for Sunak. The economy does seem to be recovering, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) updating the UK’s growth forecast and inflation finally returning to something resembling a normal level.
Nothing went catastrophically wrong in the last week or so ahead of calling the election. It’s a low bar, but since his time in office, right now he probably has the most stable base to launch a campaign that he’s ever had or ever will have.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/uk/prime-minister-rishi-sunak-election-intl/index.html
As for Macron, things were going badly for him as well, and he might have thought it was worth the risk.
For several months, a small group of confidants worked discreetly at the Elysée Palace on a high-risk scenario: the dissolving of the Assemblée Nationale. Among those in the know were former advisers to President Emmanuel Macron – aides from his first presidential campaign who later left to work in the private sector, before returning to Macron's side, such as his special adviser Jonathan Guémas. Also involved were Macron's chief of staff Alexis Kohler and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
Fewer than 10 people were "at work" on the idea, confirmed Macron's adviser on historical issues, Bruno Roger-Petit, who was delighted Sunday by this coup de théâtre. The secret was well kept, until Macron's address at 8:58 pm, when he announced on television, in the wake of his coalition's disastrous results in the European elections, his decision to dissolve the Assemblée and call snap elections.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/06/10/why-macron-decided-to-call-snap-elections_6674373_7.html
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