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Johnson has a bit of an issue with an election. If he goes after Oct 31st, he can kill the Brexit party, but you'd be doing right in the business end of no-deal disruption.
If he goes before Oct 31st, Brexit party bit more of an issue, but he can be super-macho Leave to minimise their vote & still has chance to sell no-deal as the land of the magical unicorns.
So my guess is, on balance, he'd actually prefer an election before Oct 31st.
But regardless, that guy is fundamentally untrustworthy. His opponents should not allow him to secure the election through the FTPA. That still leaves him power to set date.
The only way to be sure of a pre-Oct 31st election is through legislation. That can come from MPs, as they're planning on doing this week. Or from govt - and why not? He can 'call Corbyn's bluff' etc.
But those should be the terms. The election date must be controlled by the Commons, not by the PM.
They should also act to stop no-deal first, then agree to the election. And again: why not? If he really wants an election, he can cancel the prorogation and put it to parliament next week.
They shouldn't struggle with this. It's like playing chess against a drunk man.
