In a speech created to look towards upcoming Brexit negotiations in a positive light, Theresa May said that 'the country is coming together, but Westminster is not... division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit'.
May's announcement Tuesday in London came as a surprise.
For Merkel's centre-left coalition partners, who hope to unseat her in a vote in September, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said he hoped the election would "lead to more clarity and accountability in the negotiations".
Despite this, political opponents in Britain have widely welcomed the election, with the European Commission also hinting it was in favour of the vote.
The stronger pound helped to push down Britain's main share index, which was headed for the biggest one-day drop since June 27, days after Britain voted to leave the EU. Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon wants another referendum before spring 2019, but Theresa May has said the Brexit negotiations mean "now is not the time".
May said she would move a motion on Wednesday in the in the House of Commons calling for a vote on June 8. The polls now suggest that the Conservatives will win out, with a potential shift of around 72 seats in their favour, while Labour is expected to lose 75, and the Lib Dems will hold their ground.
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called for an early general election to be held on June 8.
To do that, we need your votes. Her sudden U-turn might seem like an opportunity for the opposition parties, but she's probably not too vulnerable on this front. "However, we believe that the Prime Minister's decision to call this election is a cynical decision driven more by the weakness of Corbyn's Labour Party rather than the good of the country".
"We have some hope that this will lead to a strong leader in London that can negotiate with us with strong backing by the electorate", an European Union official said after Tuesday's surprise move.
May, who succeeded David Cameron last July in the wake of the European Union referendum, now has a working majority of 17 MPs.
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What is a general election?
"But now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions I must take".
Polls give May's Conservatives a double-digit lead over Labour, which could have its worst election showing in decades.
In the hours after Ms May called for the election, two Labour MPs announced they would not contest their seats.
With the Labour opposition weakened, May's gamble will probably pay off with an enhanced Conservative majority in Parliament - but it's unlikely to unite a country deeply split over the decision to quit the EU. A resounding win would bolster her mandate in upcoming talks with the European Union over the country's exit.
Last night several senior Tory MPs said that Mrs May would find it hard to avoid setting out her position on controversial issues such as immigration policy that are not directly related to the Brexit negotiations. Gone is the danger of a 2020 election that "imposed a hard deadline on delivering Brexit on an unrealistic timeline" and also made "the prime minister reliant on a small Euro-sceptic majority".
In the wake of an announcement that May will make an unexpected statement in Downing Street at 11:15 a.m. (1015GMT), the pound was down 0.3 percent at $1.2525.
"They are wrong", she said.
"This uncertainty has caused a reaction in the sterling", said Jameel Ahmad, vice president of market research at FXTM in a note.
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