May’s gamble

To view this email as a web page, go [here.]( [Loake]( [new-statesman]( [ns nl v3]( "There should be no general election until 2020," Theresa May repeatedly declared. But the polls proved too good for her not to take advantage. In this week's issue, we assess the consequences of the Prime Minister's dramatic election announcement. In my Newsmaker on Theresa May, I explain how she intends to win a mandate for a transformative social policy agenda. Elsewhere, our political editor George Eaton argues that the greatest gamble would have been for the Conservatives not to call an election and risk a tougher fight in 2020. Stephen Bush, our special correspondent, says Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour critics will be fighting two campaigns: one to win and one to avoid blame for defeat. Also this week, ahead of the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday, the writer and essayist Andrew Hussey, who lives in Paris, explores why the country's voters appear intent on blowing up the political establishment. And our contributing writer and foreign policy expert John Bew analyses Donald Trump's military interventions and the intensifying rivalry among the great powers. All this, plus John Simpson on the authoritarian and populist turn in Erdogan's Turkey, Robert Webb on Prince Harry and the myth of manning up and a Spring Books special, including Leo Robson on Paula Hawkins's follow-up to The Girl on the Train and Toby Litton the problem with Prince. Enjoy and don't forget to the magazine subscribe [here]( Jason Cowley, [@JasonCowleyNS]( Editor's Picks --------------------------------------------------------------- [Jason Cowley: the Brexit PM seeks a mandate ] [Jason Cowley: the Brexit PM seeks a mandate]( Was Theresa May right to call a snap general election? The editor of the NS explores the great election wager. [Stephen Bush on how Corbyn plans to fight the June election] [Stephen Bush on how Corbyn plans to fight the June election]( Labour will be fighting two campaigns - one to win, and one to avoid blame for defeat, argues our Special Correspondent. [Our Leader: The French national crisis] [Our Leader: The French national crisis]( None of the candidates appear capable of embodying what de Gaulle called "l'espirit de la nation". [Robert Webb on Prince Harry and the myth of manning up] [Robert Webb on Prince Harry and the myth of manning up]( I'm glad Prince Harry has spoken about his mental health, because even soldiers get told to "man up", says the actor and comedian. [How the American Dream ran out of gas] [How the American Dream ran out of gas]( John Bew reviews Tyler Cowen's new book, The Complacent Class: the Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream. [New Statesman Subscribe Now]( [www.NewStatesman.com]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mischiief Theatre]( [George Saunders: ] [George Saunders: "I would tell trump supporters: I'm somewhere left of Ghandi"]( Erica Wagner interviews the bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo. [Nish Kumar on being a meme and the legacy of Goodness Gracious Me] [Nish Kumar on being a meme and the legacy of Goodness Gracious Me]( The comedian tells Rohan Banerjee why he chose comedy over law. [Click here for more information]( [podcast]( [Facebook]( [Google Plus]( [Twitter]( [Tumblr]( © copyright 2016 New Statesman LTD. John Carpenter House, 7 Carmelite Street, Blackfriars, EC4Y 0AN, United Kingdom. To stop receiving news and offers from the New Statesman, please [click here](.