... but Eurocrats back election

THE Prime Minister’s key opponents in Brussels yesterday praised her surprise announcement, saying an election win would give her vital ‘breathing space’.

German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said it would bring ‘clarity and predictability’ to talks with the EU. He added: ‘Drawn-out uncertainty does the political and economic relationship between Europe and Britain no good.’

European Council president Donald Tusk highlighted how the move sent shockwaves through Brussels by likening it to an Alfred Hitchcock plot twist. He wrote on Twitter: ‘It was Hitchcock who directed Brexit: first an earthquake and the tension rises.’

EU diplomats also backed Mrs May’s announcement, calling it an ‘obvious decision to cash in on her political support’. One senior official said it would give her a buffer against salvoes from other EU leaders who insist a deal must leave Britain worse off.

‘It will mean the concessions she has to make during talks won’t leave her open to attack,’ the official said.

Czech MEP Petr Jezek, from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, joked that Mrs May had announced the ‘date of Jeremy Corbyn’s departure’. Victory would push back the next general election to 2022, giving her longer to complete a Brexit deal without distractions at the polls.

Brexit secretary David Davis said victory would hand Mrs May significantly more power to broker a good deal with Brussels.

But the European Parliament’s Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, hinted that politicians on the continent may seek to influence the election as he called for voters to use it as a protest against Britain leaving the bloc.