Trump, take note: Britain’s May seems to have saved her job — for now — by saying ‘I’m sorry’

They are not usually words associated with Theresa May. But when the British prime minister faced a group of her own party members for the first time since last week’s shock election, the tone she struck was one of humility.

“I got us into this mess and I’m going to get us out of it,” she told a meeting with Conservative Party lawmakers Monday night. “I’ll serve as long as you want me.”

It seems to have saved her job — for now. In the immediate aftermath of Thursday’s election, May’s position looked extremely precarious. She ran a presidential-style campaign that centered largely on herself as a “strong and stable” leader, and instead of winning big, she threw away her party’s parliamentary majority.

But on Tuesday, she was still very much in her job. She met with a small hard-right party in Northern Ireland to finalize a deal that would see the party prop up May’s minority government. May is seeking the support of the party’s 10 lawmakers so that the Conservatives can pass legislation on key issues like the budget.

The potential alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is controversial. John Major, a former British prime minister and one of the architects of peace settlement in Northern Ireland, told the BBC he was "concerned" that a deal could undermine the fragile peace process in Northern Ireland.

There were some who doubted that May would even last this long. But after meeting with fellow Conservative Party lawmakers on Monday night, she seemed to buy herself time. She apologized to the group, said she was sorry for those who had lost their seats, and promised to work more inclusively. When the meeting concluded, lawmakers banged on the table as a sign of approval.

Boris Johnson, Britain’s foreign secretary and bookies’ favorite to succeed May, called her performance “stonking.”

The Conservative lawmaker Grant Shapps said it was “May unscripted.”

Heidi Allen, another Conservative lawmaker, had initially predicted that May wouldn’t last six months after the bungled election — and even then, she would only last that long because of imminent Brexit negotiations and the need for stability.

But after Monday night’s meeting, she said she was struck by May’s humility and leadership.

“I saw an incredibly humble woman who knows what she has to do, and that is be who she is and not what this job had turned her into,” she told the Guardian newspaper. “She has lost her armadillo shell and we have got a leader back.”

May’s mea culpa also highlights a difference between her and President Trump, whom May has gone out of her way to befriend — within the president’s first week in office, May extended an offer for a state visit to the U.K.

Unlike Trump — who has a reputation for not apologizing — May has responded to criticisms of her leadership by eating a slice of humble pie.

It’s unclear if May’s overall leadership style will change in the wake of the botched election. Her very first statement after the election was labeled “tone deaf” by fellow Tories after she failed to show contrition. One of the criticisms of May is that she is headstrong to the point where she doesn’t admit U-turns even when others can hear the sound of screeching tires.

She did appear more relaxed on Tuesday, however, even making fun of herself in the House of Commons. After John Bercow was reelected unanimously as the speaker of the House of Commons, May joked: “At least someone got a landslide.”

Today's WorldView

What's most important from where the world meets Washington

Humility has clearly helped May, but there are other underlying calculations for keeping her in the post, not least because the timing of a new leadership campaign isn’t optimal, with Brexit talks scheduled to start next week.

European Union officials say that Britain needs to start negotiations. In March, May triggered a two-year countdown for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union but negotiations have yet to begin. Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, tweeted on Tuesday that the “current uncertainty cannot continue.”

But May is also not out of the woods. She could fall next week, next month, next year.

She is a diminished leader and there are few who think she will complete a five-year parliamentary term: May called an election she was under no pressure to call and she and her party ended up considerably weakened.