Rishi Sunak struggles with missteps while trying to lift Conservatives

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has portrayed himself as thorough and evidence-led throughout his relatively brief political career, but there's always been a nagging question over the keenness of his political antenna.

The general election campaign over the past five weeks has clearly shown that he hasn't got the instinctive touch of some of his predecessors, such as Tony Blair or even Boris Johnson.

Sunak's campaign has seen several missteps since he announced the July 4 election date in the pouring rain in late May, including his suspension of candidates mired in a scandal over betting on the date of the election a week after Labour Party leader Keir Starmer pressed him to do so.

The biggest blunder one that prompted him to apologize was his decision to leave the 80-year D-day commemorations in northern France on June 6 early.

Critics said the decision to skip the international event that closed the commemorations showed disrespect to the veterans and diminished the U.K.'s