Theresa May: Tories were not prepared for snap election

[Denzil_DC]

4. Hmmm ...

Well, the Tories in Scotland seemed to be ready from the off - they had pre-printed generic election addresses out before any of the other parties, and didn't seem short of funding (unlike the other parties, which were still reeling after the hard-fought council elections).

The dysfunction between May's now-sacked cabal of spads and the party on the ground have been well documented - e.g. https://www.democraticunderground.com/108813256 - and smacks of arrogance, weak or absent leadership on May's part, and an assumption of an easy win as long as they did nothing to frighten the horses. Then they did frighten the horses anyway with the inexplicable unpopular non-Brexit policies they floated then had to abandon after the public backlash.

May's invisibility during the campaign is one reason why her message "didn’t come through in the election" (the other is her lack of a coherent message, which is a whole other story). She scuttled around from private gathering to private gathering, spouting the same old trite talking points, secluded from the media and the public, as if ticking off a formulaic campaign itinerary: it's Friday, it must be ...

It felt like she was seen as a liability, and the less the public saw of her, the better. They were probably right!

There's something seriously wrong with that woman. It comes across as some sort of agoraphobia and social awkwardness that goes beyond shyness. People can generally muddle through life like that, but it isn't helpful in a leader on the campaign trail.