adminLONDON – Britain’s Conservative Party announced yesterday that its members had chosen Liz Truss to replace Boris Johnson as leader, turning to a hawkish diplomat, party stalwart and free-market champion to govern a country facing the gravest economic crisis in a generation.
Ms Truss (47), prevailed over Rishi Sunak, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose resignation in July set in motion Mr Johnson’s messy ouster.
Her victory, by a margin of 57,4 percent to 42,6 percent, was widely expected in recent weeks after she took a commanding lead in the polls.
It makes her Britain’s fourth prime minister in six years and third female leader, after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. Like them, she will be greeted by a fearsome array of problems.
Double-digit inflation, a looming recession, labour unrest, soaring household energy bills and possible fuel shortages this winter – all will confront Ms. Truss as she moves into 10 Downing Street. She also must repair a party deeply divided after Mr Johnson’s turbulent three-year tenure, which peaked in 2019 with a landslide general election victory but descended into unrelenting scandals after that.
In a businesslike speech to a party gathering after her victory was announced, Ms Truss promised a “bold plan” to lower taxes and bolster the economy, adding: “We will deliver, we will deliver and we will deliver.”
Ms Truss, who served in Mr Johnson’s cabinet and was not part of the Tory rebellion that led to his departure, will formally assume the prime minister’s title today in a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the queen is vacationing. Mr Johnson will bid farewell to the monarch just before that, drawing a curtain, at least for now, on his career as a frontline politician.
Ms Truss won 81 326 votes to Mr Sunak’s 60 399 votes, a margin that while comfortable was not as overwhelming as some of the polls suggested it would be.
Ms Truss is likely to be judged by her handling of Britain’s coming economic storm. – New York Times.
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