Theresa May is weak – but she’s still stronger than her critics | Martin Kettle

The prime minister is sustained by the knowledge within her party that the alternatives are worse

As a rule, a politician who announces “I’m not a quitter” is not in a strong place. When Theresa May said those words in Japan this week, for instance, the mind quickly turned to Richard Nixon. “I have never been a quitter,” Nixon told the American people in a televised address. The address in question was the one in which he announced his resignation as president in 1974.

History is full of hubris and hostages to fortune from leaders who think they can go on longer than is wise. “This is only the third term we are asking for … I hope to go on and on,” said Margaret Thatcher in 1987. But she didn’t. “I’m starting a job that I mean to continue,” Gordon Brown announced in 2008. He didn’t either. Both Tony Blair in 2004 and David Cameron in 2015 found that pre-election pledges to serve another five years but no further collapsed under pressure. The truth is that a lame duck is a lame duck.

Related: Senior Tories cast doubt on Theresa May's long-term future as leader

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