Liz Truss becomes the new Prime Minister of Great Britain. As the ruling conservatives announced Monday, the foreign minister won an internal party vote against former finance minister Rishi Sunak. She succeeds Boris Johnson at the head of the party and thus of the government.
The change at the top of the British government will take place on Tuesday. Both Boris Johnson and Truss travel to Scotland and are successively received by Queen Elizabeth II, who is spending her summer vacation there. That the audiences take place there and not in London’s Buckingham Palace is extremely unusual and has to do with the mobility problems of the now 96-year-old monarch. Back in London, an inaugural speech will follow in Downing Street.
Automatic new head of government
The 47-year-old triumphed in a hard-fought competition for Conservative Party leadership that lasted for weeks. Truss received 57.4 percent of the vote, Sunak 42.6 percent. As is customary in Britain, Truss is automatically set as the new leader as head of government, as the Conservatives currently have a majority in the House of Commons.
Truss inherits a difficult legacy: Britain faces runaway inflation and threatens to slide into recession. Millions of families fear that they will no longer be able to pay their electricity and heating costs next winter. There are also uncertainties due to the war in Ukraine, the corona pandemic and Brexit.
On Monday, Truss announced swift action to cover the high energy bills facing citizens. “I will perform in the energy crisis by tackling people’s energy bills, but also by addressing the long-term energy supply problems,” Truss said in her maiden speech after becoming party leader.
Johnson is a “friend” of Truss
She also thanked outgoing Prime Minister Johnson, whom she called a “friend”. Truss said Johnson did Brexit, fend off the Labor Party, ensured the rapid introduction of the corona vaccine and opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She presents herself as “Iron Lady 2.0.”
If she rules as she did in the party’s election campaign against ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, then “good night”! In emphatically boyish appearances, she threw dirt on her British-born government colleague of Indian descent, unfairly portraying him as a rascal of the (Britishized) Indian upper class. Liz Truss gives little importance to sympathy points, but relies on the fear of her opponents. She presents herself to the people as the “Iron Lady 2.0”.
The first Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher (see photo) is her great role model. She even mimics the clothes.
Has caused a lot of controversy in France
Margaret Thatcher is remembered for kicking German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher in the shin with her heels under the table and loudly wringing “money back” from the EU: “I want my money back”. Liz Truss is certainly not in the EU, but she managed to gather a lot of dust before taking office in France. When asked whether Macron was friend or foe, she replied in judicial jargon: “The jury has not yet spoken.” France’s partners in the EU immediately left to reassure Paris.
It won’t do much good. Liz Truss wants to go ahead and unilaterally end the Northern Ireland Protocol between the EU and Great Britain. Brussels warns against countermeasures.
That won’t do much good. Liz Truss is a “warrior type” like Margaret Thatcher. The first Iron Lady had been raging in her own government for so long that there was a men’s revolt: “Margaret, it’s time.”
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
