It's the unspoken rule of international politics: don't pass judgment on someone else's election campaign. It's fine if you pick a winner, as Bill Clinton did with Tony Blair in 1997. But it's awkward when you are wrongfooted, as Angela Merkel was when she sided with the eventual loser, Nicolas Sarkozy, in France's 2012 presidential vote.

Britain's general election may not be setting the world alight, but it is clear that different outcomes would suit different leaders.