Intention

You may safely say that Theresa May chose to become Prime Minister at a very challenging time in British history. The British people remain wildly divided on the topic of Brexit - a topic which will affect everyone in Britain one way or the other. Within the EU, Britain’s negotiating partner, there is also division and disagreement, and yet these two parties - the UK and the EU - need to agree on a deal for the British withdrawal and their future partnerships.

On a background like this, you could argue that May has two intentions with her speech of 17 January 2017. First of all, she needs to inform her own population as well as the EU of the British Government’s stance on the coming Brexit negotiations in detail. No easy task in itself, particularly because she is addressing two different target groups simultaneously. And the...