Angela Merkel will be Chancellor for a fourth term, even though her party suffered a 8% loss of support. Her "largese" of accepting a million refugees was the main reason for this loss and benefited the far-right, anti-immigrant, anti-Europe AfG, which won 94 seats and 13% of the votes, much of which came from East Germany/Berlin, where it received 22% of the votes ( only 11% in West)
     Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (C D U), dropped from 40 % to 33% and lost 67 seats, from 313 in 2014 to 246. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) also lost votes dropping 5% to 21% and losing 40 seats ( from 103 in 2013 to 153. The  Greens won 67 seats ; the FDP ( Free Democratic Party) won 80 and the other 80 seats or so went to smaller parties ( there is a 5% threshold). The AfG are already in disarray as the chair of the party, Frauke Petry, has stated that she will not sit with the party in the Bundestag as she distanced herself from the extreme right .
   The Electoral System is a mixed  member Proportional Representation(P R). Voters have two votes. One is to vote for a candidate in your constituency and the other for the Party List ( where the seats are distributed according to the percentage received by party) Half of the 630 members of the Bundestag ( Lower House ) are elected in districts, where candidates with the most ( plurality) votes win. The second half are elected from Party Lists ( some top members of party may run in both, in case they lose at the district). Some voters may split their vote voting one way in district and another way for List. Any complaint is heard in the Federal Constitutional Court . Voters or candidates must be 18 or over. Elections are held every 4 years and on Sunday ( Art. 38 of the  German Basic Law.
     Most governments in Germany have been stable coalitions  and it will be no different this time. Expect the Black (C D..246) to join with the Green ( Greens... 67 ) and the Yellow ( FDP... 80 ), for a total of around 396, a majority. This is being called the " Jamaican Coalition".

     It's in the air. From Trump's " Fire and Fury" to his UN ambassador Halley's  they are " begging for war", to cable "news", to Kim Jong-un's firing more rockets to South Korea's live fire military exercises to the  removing the cap on weapons. China has made it known that while it will not assist the North if it starts a war, it will not allow nuclear war on the Peninsula and Putin has stated that the North Koreans will " eat grass'' before it gives up.
     65 years of Armistice and the stationing of tens of thousands of American troops in South Korea and Japan have created paranoia in North Korea, the feeling that they will be invaded or attacked at any time and the rhetoric from Trump and his cronies have served to increase that feeling. The North feels that the only deterrent is developing nuclear weapons and seeing what happened to Saddam when he gave up his chemical weapons and Khaddafi when he ended his nuclear program, they will not give up ...si vis pacem, para bellum....to live in paece, prepare for war. 
     There are some who draw a comparison to the Cuban Missile Crisis ( Oct 16-28, 1962), but that is too far fetched. Yes there is tension; there are hard words spoken on both sides and the media, especially cable news are full of talks of war. There may be war but not on the scale of what could have been, had the " kambshii krizis", not been resolved peacefully.  There would have been total destruction.
     The Cuban Missile Crisis began with the threat of another American invasion of Cuba ( this after the failure of the Bay of Pigs, April 1961 ( when JFK sanctioned, somewhat half-heartedly, the CIA/ Cuban exiles invasion that failed. Kennedy was blamed for not allowing air support). Fidel Castro at a meeting with the USSRs Nikita Khrushchev ( July 1962) asked for protection and Khrushchev, wanting to get back at the USA for placing missiles in Italy and Turkey, agreed to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. The Americans learnt of this through satellite photos and demanded that they be removed. Kennedy ( whom Khrushchev thought was weak, after the Berlin Crisis " does not have the courage to stand up to a serious challenge". He told his son, Sergei that Kennedy " would make a fuss, make more fuss and then agree") had a few options... the Chiefs of Staff wanted a full scale invasion to remove Castro;  use diplomacy or secretly tell Castro to sever ties or else or use air strike on the sites or mount a blockade or do nothing ( Krushchev, felt that JFK " was indecisive ( Bay of Pigs) , too young, intellectual, not prepared well for decision-making in crisis situation...too intellectual and too weak". JFK had ( unlike Trump) surrounded himself with qualified, experienced advisers and they came through, a blockade was mounted and after 13 days diplomacy prevailed and the situation was defused and MAD...Mutual Assured Destruction was avoided. Russia would dismantle its missiles in Cuba and in return the US promised not to invade Cuba, remove their missiles in Italy and Turkey and lift the military blockade. Khrushchev had once stated that "my vas pokhoronim...we will bury you ", but this time cooler heads prevailed.
     Trump is no Kennedy and his UN ambassador  Halley is no Adlai Stevenson. Trump is bombastic and erratic and his most of his advisers are unschooled, inexperienced and lack diplomatic skills. Kennedy, for all his youth, was studied, dispassionate, had served in the Pacific war and was a senator and had able, skilled and experienced advisers to whom he listened.
     Trump has the same options... do nothing or mount a full scale attack or use secret meetings to get to Kim or use a full blockade or use diplomacy or any combination. He cannot not do nothing ( not in his nature or political suicide given his bombast on the issue). A full scale attack would be devastating, not only on the North but also on the South and Japan and the surrounding areas, causing millions in death and widespread destruction. China has made it known that it will not come to the aid of the North if it starts a war, but that it does not want a nuclear war in the peninsula. Further any actions/sanctions that include a threat to China's economy will be met with retaliation...China and US has a $600 billion plus trade and China can dump its American dollars, creating economic havoc so any blockade has to take China's response into consideration ( this is not tiny Cuba); the only solution is diplomacy backed by economic and military might.
     What does Kim want? The end to the Korean war and the threat of American invasion. This can be accomplished by a formal treaty  finally ending the war ( there is presently only a truce, an armistice). Security for the country and the Regime is paramount. Development of nuclear weapons is seen as a deterrent and they will not easily give that up. It can be done by bringing Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and the EU and UN  and working out an agreement that addresses the concerns of the North and the US and Japan and South Korea and it will not be easy but as  Benjamin Franklin advised " the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war". 
     Kennedy and Khrushchev worked it out. It took 13 days but in the end, war was avoided.
      The Winds of War must not become the Hurricane of Mass Destruction.     

     Seven months of tweets, rants, abuses, firings, departures, naval disasters, failures, insults, Charlottesville, Afghanistan..... It goes on and on and on.
     McConnell is the new target, being blamed for failures on " repeal and replace", inactivity on tax reform, infrastructure and the Wall. Nothing is his fault. It is the " fake" news and media; it is  Sens. McCain, and Flake
     Spicer is gone and so is Priebus and Bannon and Kelly is brought to steady the stricken ship of state.
     Four naval vessels, full of "doodads", have been involved in accidents since Jan.31, 2017. Incompetence or cyber attacks? North Korea continues to prepare to launch more missiles and Trump threatens and threatens and the North Koreans are unfazed. He blames China and Xi remains unmoved and continues China's economic growth with TPP and  building the new Silk Road and buying up resources.
     The KKK/Duke, White Supremacists, Nazis demonstrations , in which one was killed and many injured is compared to the anti-racist marchers and Trump is roundly criticized by Republicans and his popularity and trustworthiness drop among Independents and Republicans and so he reads a telepromptered speech and grudgingly calls out the "racists" but then he goes to Arizona and in front of a selected audience ( he was supposed to visit the Wall, but feared for his safety and so visited an office in Yuma), where he ranted and insulted and blamed ( true to form).
     His long awaited plan for Afghanistan was a litany of generalities. He flipped and now favors sending more troops, (4,000 now. He had always called for complete withdrawals, but now says that being President has changed his position ) . This is a quagmire waiting to suck in more and more Americans. Afghanistan is not a winnable war ( The British  and the Soviets more recently learnt that bloody lesson), and just like Vietnam and Iraq will is an exercise in futility. It is good for the defense industry,  private contractors and their friends in ancillary industries but bot for the young Americans ( but they are fodders anyway, willingly going forth, gung- ho as ever, until it is too late.
     This is not making America great. This is diminishing America. 
      Trump and his administration reek of incompetence and there is no way out.

     Six months and counting as the Trump administration fumbles from one crisis to another. Whether it was the Muslim ban, the Wall, Health Care or NATO or Russian interference or the various investigations by special prosecutor or Congress or the firing of FBI Director Comey, or the undermining and insults leveled at A G Sessions or the infighting in the White House  and the resignation of Press Secretary Spicer, Trump continues to govern by twitting and chaos reigns.
     Not a single piece of significant legislation has passed. Trump has issued various Executive Orders and that's all. The so-called " Repeal and Replace Obamacare" was a series of bungling by Senate majority leader " Just Say No" McConnell as he tried various reuse to get the votes necessary. They all failed, from Repeal and Replace to just Repeal to "skinny? Repeal. Members got earfuls from constituents and Trump went on a rampage of tweeting blaming everyone but himself. They will try again but after 7+ years of promising to Repeal and Replace, the Affordable Care Act is still standing ( many who voted for Trump really got to see what was in store for the if that happened as the Congressional Budget Office came out with its findings that would see 26+ million lose coverage from preconditions to Medicare and Medicaid and the billions in tax cuts for the " wealthy 1%).
     Various attempts to ban Muslims from some countries ( Libya, Syria etc.), were struck by from Hawaii to Washington and this is in limbo also. The Wall is still not funded and is going no where. The NATO issue is still in murky waters. Trump went to Europe and got no respect ( at one stage he was sitting by himself, while others were meeting and at the photo-op, he was relegated to the second row.). Then he went to the G-20 meeting and was soundly criticized for having a meeting with Putin, where no American translator was present. Then he was invited by Pres. Macron to the Bastille Day celebration and there was a whole lot of hand holding, backslapping and "praise" for Macron's wife " you are in good shape" ( Macron has since lost 10% in the polls, the Theresa May syndrome of hand holding). NATO remains unresolved.
     The Russia probe has been a millstone around Trump's neck. It is not going away and has ensnared his son JR., his son-in law Kushner, his former campaign manager Manafort and others still to come. The special prosecutor, Mueller and the Asst. AG. have come under attacks from Trump, with threats of firings but so far nothing has been done, except training his sights on Attorney General Sessions. He has been vicious and unrelenting in his attacks on Sessions but so far Sessions has held his ground . He blames Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia probe, this before there was a Russia probe, saying that Sessions ( Sessions was a Trump loyalist from day 1 and was the first Senator to endorse him ) should have told him that he would recuse himself. Sean Spicer his Press Secretary could not take the "beating" that he was getting at press briefings, trying to explain Trump and defending and earned his disfavor ( which Trump, true to form, showed in a very crude way, by not inviting Spicer to meet with the Pope.
      Now he has appointed the vile and vulgar Scaramucci to be his Communications Director and all hell has broken loose as he has gone on an expletive ridden rant attacking "leakers", and picking a fight with Chief of Staff Priebus.
     Trump has announced a ban on transgender in the military, because of medical costs. In 2014 it cost $84 million for erectile dysfunction. It may cost about $2.4 to 8.4 million for transition-related health care. Another broken promise. Even Sen. Hatch, a Mormon came out against Trump's proposal and the military is in confusion, about what to do with those serving ( they volunteered, unlike the 5-time draft-dodger Trump.   
     The turmoil has turned into a tornado of accusations and nothing gets done. 

     The Saudis, joined by Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE, have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and cut off all land, sea and air links, seeking to isolate the tiny country, However, the two other member of the Gulf Co-operation Council, Kuwait and Oman have refused to go along, causing a split in the and threatening the stability in this very unstable region. Why?
     Trump tweeted afterwards that " during my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar- Look" ( June 6). Of course the Saudis pointed elsewhere when they are the ones who have been spending billions (recently gave $1 billion to Bangladesh to build 560 mosques.. a country that has recently been seething with terrorism, where extremists have been attacking minorities, journalists and anyone seen as enemy of Islam, demanding Sharia and laws on blasphemy and whose PM has been cultivating them in the run up to elections, rejecting the principle of secularism that was one of the founding basis of its Constitution, drafted by her father Sheik Mujib) .. The Saudis have been spreading its very strict interpretation of Islam.. Wahabbism, through its schools/madrassahs and mosques in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia etc. and many wealthy Saudis have been accused of funding terrorists groups ( bin Ladin was Saudi and 15 of the 19 attackers of 9/11 were Saudis ). 
     Trump was conned and used by the Saudis to go after Qatar which has been developing a closer relation with Iran ( gas field exploration... Qatar is the world largest producer of liquefied natural gas), and Turkey ( air base). The Saudis, which has a stranglehold on its media, controlling all information, is angry with Qatar over Al Jazeera and wants it muzzled. Also it accuses Qatar of funding the Muslim Brotherhood, the most popular face of political Islam ( the Egyptian strongman al-Sisi is particularly afraid of this Sunni group ( after he met and was embraced and praised by Trump , al-Sisi, arrested a potential opponent for allegedly making an   indecent hand gesture at a rally five months earlier and he has blocked access to the websites of Mada Masr, Egypt's leading liberal newspaper and websites of 20 other media outlets, including Al Jazeera and Huffpost Arabic ( Economist, June 10-16) and so is Bahrain( authorities killed 5 people and arrested 286 more in a raid on the home of a Shia cleric)  , thus their support of the Saudis.
     The autocrats, religious, military and political have read Trump as being sympathetic and supportive ( Duterte of the Philippines has gone on a rampage) and think that they can persecute "enemies" without hindrance from the USA. However there are other implications. By his words and actions, Trump has unleashed instability in the Middle East and in Europe . His support of the action against Qatar has unsettled the region ( the Americans have one of their largest military bases their, with over 15, 000 military personnel  and tons of equipment . Was he aware of this?). He has also unsettled NATO and Europe, refusing to commit to Article 5, to come to the aid of member nation and by his public scolding of members. He has also shown that it can abandon its allies ( Qatar ) and this affect America's credibility.
     Leadership is sorely lacking and even the 15,00 camels of Qatar have been deported.   

     Three days to go and the race is tightening up and Theresa May is in panic mode. When she called the election, the Conservatives had three more years to go but she gambled, and called an unnecessary and expensive election, hoping to get an even stronger mandate to negotiate Brexit or so she claimed at the time.
     She should have learned from her predecessor, Cameron who called a referendum  on Brexit and had to step down when the people narrowly voted to leave, splitting the country between urban and rural; old whites fearing for their way of life ( the Poles were a particular target) and the young seeing greater opportunities in the European Union. London, the financial center voted overwhelmingly  to stay ( it fears that banks and other businesses would leave)
     May also fell for the polls that showed Labour and especially its leader Corbyn trailing far  behind. Three terrorist attacks, two in recent days in Manchester and London have raised serious concern about security and May's ability to handle the growing threat. Her leadership and her somewhat confusing campaign and her failure to assuage fears about the negotiation over Brexit have gnawed at her lead and it is down from a high of over 20% when the election was called to one or two percent.
     Scotland , Northern Ireland voted to stay ( and Scotland is moving towards another referendum and Northern Ireland is looking for a way to use its border with the Irish Republic to retain the benefits of Europe),  and the prospects of the Conservatives winning seats there   are slim. Wales also seems to be backing out. The rural voters and the elderly will not be enough to carry May to victory and it looks like a minority government on the 8th
     May,s chances are quickly  fading. She is being blamed for "attacks", because of the cutbacks in policing spending  while she was Home Secretary (5 yrs.). This adds to her woes. 
     The election is over and May and the Conservatives got a drubbing ( the polls had up by 20%), losing as many as 17 seats ( 318), while Labour picked 34 seats (266). The SNP lost 22 seats(34), while the Lib-Dem picked up 4), for 12 ; the Dem. Unionist got 10( +2)'; Sinn Fein 7 (+3); Plaid Cymru 4(+1). UKIP the Brexit leader lost its only seat.
     The turnout was 66.1% up from 2015 by 2.6%, but down 3.5% from the Brexit referendum. More people voted 33.2 million than ant other election since 1992 (33.6 million). The Conservatives got 42.4% ( 13,650,900) to Labour 40.1% (12,858,652).
     The country remained divided as ever with English nationalists vs. Scottish nationalists; young vs. old; rural vs. urban; natives vs. immigrants and London vs. rest. Trade, tax, debt, immigration, Europe, austerity, cost of living, NHS funding, economic growth. housing and employment.
     Theresa May wants to remain in office and is working on a deal with Ulster Democratic Unionists, but it will be razor thin and will not last. She also faces attacks from within the party and the sniping and blaming has begun and she will not be able to withstand the onslaught ( even Thatcher and Major could not and Cameron resigned after the referendum ). So in a few months, the government will fall and the "savaged" Jeremy Corbyn ( by the media pundits and within the party elites who see him as a disaster), may be called upon to form a government ( who would have thought it possible). He certainly did much better than anyone expected but he was able to win the youth vote ( promising to spend more on education and taxing the wealthy).
     Britain is in for a rough ride. 

     He is the first American president to visit a Muslim state on his first trip abroad. This from a man who campaigned for a ban on Muslims and issued three such Executive Orders ( which the courts have struck down). He as also accused Saudi Arabia of the 9/11 attacks ( 15 of the attackers were from Saudi Arabia as was bin Ladin who received much financial support from elements in Saudi Arabia) and has constantly talked about "radical Islamic terrorists" ( he said Pres. Obama should resign for not using that term and also attacked Clinton on that).
     He was greeted warmly by the Saudis, in part because he signed an arms deal worth $109 billion and called on the Sunnis to act against Iran, (which had re-elected the moderate Rouhani to a second term) and the nuclear agreement ( even though his State Dept. has certified that Iran is respecting the deal.
     He was accompanied by his wife, Melania and his daughter, Ivanka who made a speech on women empowerment, from which women reporters were kicked out. She, Ivanka could have stood up but chose to stoop down, exposing her hypocrisy and the sham. She preferred her business but was quite willing to use the issue of women empowerment. The venality matches her father's.
     His next stop is Israel, where PM Netanyahu has forced all his ministers to show up to greet Trump ( news had leaked out that some of them were planning to boycott). The Israelis are angry about Trump leaking intelligence to the Russians that they provided to the US ( this was at the unprecedented meeting in the Oval Office with Russian Foreign Minister and also Ambassador, where Trump also joked about firing FBI Director Comey, and telling the Russians that that it was because of the pressure from the investigation of the alleged Russian hacking and interference in the last election, which has since led to the appointment of a special prosecutor, Moeller. The Israelis are very concerned about the arms deal, Trump signed with the Saudis. 
     The Israelis, especially Netanyahu want to curry favor with Trump, who they see as a strong ally, especially as he had promised ( during the campaign) to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem. He has backed down somewhat ( as he has done on a variety of other promises), so expect the treatment to be very good, but you can bet that they are going to get some " goodies" from Trump as a form of compensation.
     Trump will need all the goodwill and treatment, because his next stop is the  Pope, whom he insulted during the campaign and of whom the Pope has been very critical. This meeting will be cordial but not warm. 
     The real test will be Europe and the G-7 meeting. His anti-NATO, anti- European Union  and his pro- Brexit, pro Le Pen stances have been galling and relations have been tense ( also the visit of Merkel did not go well ). What will he say and how it will be received and the treatment in the media and in the streets, will define this visit.  
     The trip has ended. It was not a disaster but there were embarrassment and thuggery. He elbowed the leader of Montenegro out of the to get in front of the camera. He lectured the   heads of NATO, berating them for not paying their dues of 2% ( the 2% is for national defence spending not dues to NATO ( they were bemused, looking in askance at each other). He called the Germans "bad, bad ,bad", saying that he will limit car shipments ( most of the cars are made in US). He kept G-7 leaders waiting while he waited for a golf cart to take him to the photo-op. He also used the golf cart to go to the meeting in Sicily ( the others walked to the place of meeting). He ( privately) mused about leaving the Paris accord on climate change. He told the president of Israel ( when he was in Israel ) that he had just left the Middle East). He was admonished by Theresa May on intelligence leaks on Manchester bomb attack. He kept apart in Europe but cozied up with the tyrannical Saudis. He is back and tweeting about "fake news".    

     Macron won easily with 64% of the votes. Now he needs to translate that into seats in the National Assembly and that will not be easy. Only a handful of seats are won on the 1st ballot and before the 2nd ballot, deals are struck. The parties of the Left will choose the best candidates to face off against the Right and Macron's En Marche ay be caught in the squeeze. He can prevent this by ensuring that enough of his candidates win enough votes to qualify for the 2nd round.
     The President of France has many powers, including choosing the Premier, the Cabinet, can dismiss the Premier, dissolve the National Assembly ( once a year) and rule by decree  also can declare a state of emergency. He dominates foreign policy and is the " national arbiter" to ensure the security and unity of the State ( Charles de Gaulle used all these powers in his 10 years, thus establishing the precedents and others have followed him).
     There is in The France the principle of " cohabitation", when the party in power in the National Assembly is different from that of the President ( Chirac had to work with the Socialists). This forces compromises and has worked in the past, but the President usually want free reins.
     The outcome of the election next week is not good for Macron. Many of those who voted for him did so to stop Marine Le Pen. Her support is solid and the only thing stopping her party from winning a large bloc of seats ( especially in the rural areas) is the "deals" to keep her out and some recent scandals with her replacement as leader. The Socialists did not support Macron and they see him as a traitor, so they will do all they can to deny him a majority. The Right are expected to rally around their party too. It will be a four-way contest and the likely outcome is " cohabitation".  

     Turkey held a referendum, April 16, 2017 and the result was very close, dividing the country between the rural conservatives Islamists of Recip Erdogan and the urban, liberal, secular-oriented urban centers of the opposition. Prior to the election, tens of thousands were arrested, fired and otherwise harassed(100,000+including judges, lawyers, teachers, journalists, military and police officers lost their jobs and 40,000+ were arrested, including pro- Kurdish lawyers). Hundreds of non-governmental organisations and news outlet, as well as many businesses, from schools to fertility clinics were shut down. Erdogan lasted European countries calling France and the Netherlands "Nazis" and opponents at home as supporters of terrorists.
     The turnout was very high at 86% of the 55 million eligible voters, and Erdogan received about 51% of the votes but the Opposition has claimed ( and international observers have concurred) that there was widespread vote tampering, and that the Electoral Board has counted ballot boxes that were not officially stamped.
     Erdogan has claimed victory and this has begun the process of changing Turkey from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, with the President is both Head of State and Head of Government ( the office of Prime Minister has been abolished), with sweeping powers to appoint judges, declare a state of emergency, dissolve parliament, issue laws by decrees, an executive presidency with the potential to become a dictatorship ( especially given the autocratic actions and pronouncements of Erdogan, who can remain in power until 2029.
    Turkey faces a lot of problems. There is instability and terrorism at its borders, with hundreds of thousands of refugees flooding in. There is war in Iraq and Syria and with Kurdish elements fighting fro their Kurdistan. There is economic depression and with the tourists staying away in droves, it will get worse and of course, there is the move to a more Islamic society ( away from the secularism that was introduced by Kemal Ataturk in 1923).
     As things degenerate and they will, Erdogan will assume more and more powers and become more and more autocratic and there will be more violence and upheavals, but with a defanged military, chaos will reign, and the very foundations will be affected. Can Turkey withstand this. No. ( This is not France in 1958, which was beset with institutional instability ( 26 governments. between 1946-58); at home; military defeat in Vietnam ( Dien Bien Phu, 1954), and turmoil in the colonies in Africa ( Algeria), when they brought Charles de Gaulle from self-imposed exile (1946), gave him power to write a new constitution, which he did successfully , creating the 5th Republic, giving himself Executive powers and restoring stability and security, which France as enjoyed until today.)
     But today's France is facing problems again. There is terrorism, economic depression, refugees , incompetent leadership and in the upcoming presidential election of April , 22, four candidates that offer little. There is the far right, anti-Muslim, Anti- immigrant, anti-Europe Marine Le Pen ( who ousted her pied-noir father, Jean-Marie from the leadership; the old, white,  Catholic conservative, rural voters of the disgraced former front-runner, Fillion ( he and his British-born wife are being investigated for embezzlement ; the 39 year old, investment banker and economy minister, Macron in the center "calling himself a progressive and a reformer and the surprise of the season Jean-Luc Melenchon, the far left/ hardline communist, who has been making inroads with his attacks on the banks and the 1%, running a glitzy campaign with holograms of himself delivering blistering speeches at various venues at the same time. This will be settled at the Second ballot and the only thing certain is that Le Pen will be one of the candidate, and the other will be either Macron or Melenchon ( it will be like in 2002 when voters held their nose and voted for the detested Chirac in order to stop pere Le Pen)
     In Britain Theresa May has seen the polls and on the 279 day of her 280 day in office, she took a walk in the hills of Wales and decided to go back on her word not to call a snap election. She has 3 more years in this mandate but decided to hold an election on June 8, 2017. Will the voters punish her for this? More to come.  .