Comparisons to the ‘iron lady’ abound in the controversial political profile of the new British ‘Prime Minister’, where her radical conversion to conservatism and defense of Brexit stands out
Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Truss, 47, rises to the top of the British government and Conservative Party after a long process of political transformation. She is the daughter of a professor of pure mathematics and a nurse, whom she describes as ‘the left of the Labor Party’. As a young woman, she declared herself in favor of nuclear disarmament and accompanied her parents to anti-war demonstrations loaded with cardboard missiles. He grew up in Scotland and in the English city of Leeds. In Oxford he studied the most common careers among politicians: philosophy, politics and economics. In her student days she was president of the Liberal Democrat students. From that position, he demanded the end of the monarchy – “we don’t believe there are people born to rule” – and led a group of staunch defenders of Europe. The shadow of this Europhilia has haunted her for years after her decision to become a Brexit supporter.
Truss has achieved her ambition to rise as the third Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He spent ten years in management positions in the private company and made his debut as a councilor in a South East London area. He joined the House of Commons in 2010 and within a few years he had a high-level presence in national politics. She was Secretary of State for Education, Minister of the Environment, Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Trade and finally Minister of Foreign Affairs.
His active profile on social networks was already a sign of his ambition to replace Boris Johnson. Another example is his well-known admiration for Margaret Thatcher. Comparisons are even circulating between the ‘iron lady’ of the war in Malvinas and the prime minister who now has to deal with the conflict in Ukraine. He hesitated at the start to succeed the controversial ‘ex-Prime Minister’ and regained his strength until he placed himself at the front of the race. The Tories have rewarded the effort.
“Who is the real Liz Truss?” asked host Kay Burley on the occasion of a Sky News program during the race for Johnson’s succession. The now converted mother of two, labeled leaving the EU a “tragedy” years ago. “I don’t want my kids to need a visa to work there.” He also assured, in an official act in 1994, that ‘we Liberal Democrats believe in opportunity for all’.
He later changed parties and climbed the ranks to secure a predominantly Conservative seat in a rural Norfolk (Eastern England) district. He won the position in 2010 and was on the brink of losing it two years later when it was revealed that he had had an extramarital affair with the deputy who was to lead him through the parliamentary labyrinth. It saved her professional career and her marriage to accountant Hugh O’Leary, with whom she has two daughters. Protected by David Cameron, she left a trail of uncertainty and disappointment in the ministerial posts she held.
In 2016, there was a phase of tremendous tension between the government and the judiciary. It was discussed whether Parliament should authorize the activation of the exit process from the European Union and the Supreme Court ruled against the executive. Truss was Attorney General that year. He voted to stay, ignoring the judges’ call for help when the ‘Daily Mail’ tabloid accused them of being ‘enemies of the people’.
But Truss converted to Brexit. The ultra-Eurosceptic factions of conservative parliamentarians and activists support him. And that he described a possible departure from the European bloc in 2000 as a “triple tragedy” that would result in “more rules, more forms and more delays in trade with the EU”.
Johnson entrusted him with the difficult implementation of the Northern Ireland Withdrawal Agreement Protocol last December and, after a positive start, broke off negotiations with the EU in a legislative challenge that has sparked mistrust of the Commission and community leaders . Truss is leading the initiative that is challenging the former prime minister’s commitments to merchandise control in this province of British sovereignty.
For the Lord Chancellor, all these ideological twists and turns are the result of a natural process. Of course, without ever losing sight of the “Thatcherist” rules: “Freedom, low taxes and a diminished state.” Its critics regard it as a weather vane that moves according to prevailing trends.
In a Sky special, he suggested that the economic recession that the Bank of England expects before the end of the year could be avoided. “We can change the outcome and make it easier for the economy to grow,” he claims. Truss proposes to lower the tax burden by some 35,000 million euros and abolish the ‘green tax’ on gas and electricity bills. It’s a populist formula that pleases the Tory’s militancy, but could lead to the party’s defeat in the 2024 election. “Truss wins the race by calling on the right-wing of his party,” notes Professor John Curtice on in ‘The Times’ while predicting difficulties in reclaiming the “crucial central ground” where the generals are decided.
The Conservative leader has a long history in the British cabinet, having seen three former prime ministers: David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Theresa May. In her last position at the head of diplomacy, she has been as tough as her former boss with the war in Ukraine and vows to tighten sanctions against Russia. It has also announced that it will personally “reprimand” its president, Vladimir Putin, if he attends the G20 summit scheduled for November in Indonesia.
Source: La Verdad
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