The tale of two political leaders

LONDON :How often does one see the air of victory around a leader whose party finishes second, and the dark cloud of gloom around the leader whose party emerges as the single largest one in Parliament? This unlikely spectre marks the politics of Brexit-bound Britain after Thursday’s election.

The altered political halos around Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn symbolise the political flux reflected in the past 12 hours as election results came in.

May was ashen faced in the counting hall after winning in her constituency of Maindenhead, while Corbyn had the gait and look of a victor in Islington North, not just because of his win but the unlikely strides Labour had made under his leadership.

Political pundits and journalists reached for superlatives to describe May’s error in calling the mid-term election, and the scale of Corbyn’s achievement from the doldrums in which the party was until recently.

For one who was compared too soon to Margaret Thatcher, May’s electoral debacle has gladdened many within her Conservative Party, famous for being unforgiving of leaders who do not lead it to power.

Meanwhile, Corbyn’s transformation, and Labour’s transformation under his leadership, is the most remarkable story in British politics.