Irish people have a similar humour…
The UK will hold a snap general election on June 8 this year, Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Tuesday.
The news comes despite frequent claims by the British Prime Minister that she would not be calling a general election and that the next one should be in 2020 as scheduled.
The Conservatives currently hold a narrow majority in Westminster and May’s government have been forced to make a number of concessions recently due to this problem (for them).
It’s expected that they will increase their majority in this election and that should strengthen May’s position as they face into Brexit negotiations as well as silencing some of the more vocal backbenchers in the party.
But how does this affect Ireland and in particular Enda Kenny’s timeline for stepping down as Fine Gael leader and as Taoiseach?
It was widely expected that Kenny would step down as leader of Fine Gael sometime in May but could remain as some kind of ambassador during the Brexit talks.
But a lot of people were making the same joke (maybe it’s not a joke…) about Enda Kenny and his plans for the Fine Gael leadership earlier today following Theresa May’s announcement.
How long until Enda Kenny says, "with Britain having an election, it would not be a good time now for me to step down…."?
— Matt Cooper (@cooper_m) April 18, 2017
Thought process in Enda Kenny's mind at the moment – "sure with elections in the UK sure I can't be going anywhere soon."
— Declan Varley (@declanvarley) April 18, 2017
Theresa May has surely extended Enda Kenny's tenure. No wonder he was dancing yesterday #DancingWiththeStars #Brexit #UKElection
— Wayne O'Connor (@WayneOCillAirne) April 18, 2017
Assuming Enda Kenny will stay as Taoiseach until after the Snap election?!
— Elaine Byrne (@ElaineByrne) April 18, 2017
BREAKING Enda Kenny will NOT resign – sure he couldn't possibly now there is a UK general election in May ?
— Gareth Noble (@GarNob) April 18, 2017
A snap British General Election! @EndaKennyTD couldn't leave now.. could he? I hazard a guess that events have just extended his tenure.
— Chris Donoghue (@chrisrdonoghue) April 18, 2017
The happiest Irish man to hear about the british general election @EndaKennyTD . I wonder how @campaignforleo and @simoncoveney feel ???
— Paul Desmond (@GunDesmPaul) April 18, 2017
No doubt #EndaKenny will argue he has to wait around until a new #Government is formed in the #UK too. #TheresaMay #GE17 #politics #Brexit pic.twitter.com/Y0YUPI2hsW
— Ronan Madigan (@ronanmadigan) April 18, 2017
Snap election in the UK? There's no way Enda Kenny is going anywhere now.
— Dave Gorman (@daithigorman) April 18, 2017
Enda Kenny may need to stay on a littl longer now with such uncertainty in England with the General Election #BritishElection
— Keith Stephens (@KeithStephens) April 18, 2017
Sure, Enda Kenny can't resign now. He'd have to bed in the new UK government for at least a year after their election on June 8th.
— Karl Brophy (@KarlBrophy) April 18, 2017
