After frantic consultations with DUP leader Arlene Foster, the Prime Minister headed to Buckingham Palace to seek the formal permission of the Queen to form a new government, returning to No 10 to announce she had the "legitimacy" to continue in office.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is making appointments to her Cabinet as she tries to shore up authority undermined by a poor election result.
With no clear victor emerging from Thursday's election, a wounded May has signalled she would fight on.
"I don't think throwing us into a leadership battle at this moment in time, when we are about to launch into these hard negotiations, would be in the best interests of the country", Evans said.
Martin Schulz, who is running against Merkel in the upcoming German elections meanwhile confirmed he had gone a step further and had reached out to May's rival, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The Labour leader said his party would "absolutely" ensure Brexit occurs if they secured power, with a focus on negotiating tariff-free access as part of a "jobs-first Brexit".
Former party leaders have warned any immediate leadership challenge would be too disruptive, but most commentators believe May can not survive in the long-term.
Ellvena Graham, president of Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "This result has accomplished the unlikely feat of piling more uncertainty on business communities already grappling with a number of issues including a shortage of skilled workers, currency fluctuations, high up-front costs, and the Brexit process".
She can only realistically govern now with the support of a party from Northern Ireland, which has a rather different approach to Brexit than her.
May's office says that the DUP had agreed to in outline to a "confidence and supply" arrangement.
He said the Conservative election manifesto - which Hill and Timothy were key in drafting - was "a full assault on the core Tory voters, who are senior citizens".
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It was a feat Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy and Cam Ward could not accomplish - and Murray closed it out with back-to-back shutouts. His sliding save against a shot from ex-Pittsburgh winger James Neal kept the two sides scoreless entering the second.
They were replaced by Gavin Barwell, a former housing minister who lost his seat in the election.
Labour gained 30 seats to win 262, with 40 percent of the vote compared to 42.4 percent for May.
"That's not a matter for me", she said.
Senior party figures have cautioned against any immediate leadership challenge, saying it would only cause further disruption as Britain prepares to start Brexit negotiations as early as June 19.
On Brexit, the DUP supports leaving the European Union but opposes a return to a "hard" border with Ireland - which could happen if Ms May carries through her threat to walk away from the talks rather than accept a "bad deal".
"My phone is full of texts from lots and lots of people from right across the party", he said. "I'm afraid we ran a pretty terrible campaign", she said.
For instance, Menon said, some pro-EU Conservative legislators may wait until the Brexit legislative program comes to Parliament to start attacking it.
"This government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union", May had said.
She put on a courageous face, refusing to show any contrition for the election gamble that spectacularly backfired, but observers say she has been deeply wounded. "It's time to put the economy back to the top of the agenda where it belongs", she said.
The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera meanwhile was decisive in its verdict, proclaiming: "Theresa's gamble failed, she is no Margaret Thatcher".
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