UK’s new PM expresses concern over opposition accusation that he lacks legitimacy
Rishi Sunak, elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by a majority of Conservative MPs, has begun his mandate avoiding smiling and with rhetorical austerity. He entered 10 Downing Street alone on Tuesday, without his wife, marking a break from recent custom. Before entering, he riveted his promises of these days: industriousness and a Government “integrity, professional and responsible at all levels.”
The new British leader drew the lines that separate him from his predecessors in his first words as head of government, before entering the official residence. Although he praised Lizz Truss for her efforts to promote economic growth, he pointed out that mistakes were made and that one of his tasks in the face of the “deep economic crisis” is to repair them.
He also wanted to display his first argument before an accusation that he frequently receives from the opposition parties: they tell him that he has no legitimacy without submitting to the judgment of the population. Boris Johnson claimed, during his failed attempt to return to Downing Street, that he was better able than the other candidates to reject this demand for new elections. He won the last election, in December 2019.
Both Truss and Johnson have expressed support for Sunak, but their sincerity will be tested over time. The new prime minister pointed out that the victory of 2019 belongs to all the conservatives and promised to fulfill the vaguest promises of the electoral program: improve schools and hospitals, better prosecution of crimes…
Rishi Sunak will appoint his Cabinet ministers throughout this Tuesday, after receiving from King Carlos III the request that he form a Government. It is the usual formal way in the British constitutional monarchy. In reality, Sunak is prime minister because, as was demonstrated this Monday in the elections for the new leader, he has the support of the majority of deputies from the Conservative Party.
Bold Truss
After being elected exactly on the day that Diwali, or the Hindu festival of lights, began, he is the first appointed minister in the reign of Charles III, who in his time as Prince of Wales promoted relations between different cultures and religions. It has been claimed for years that at his coronation in May, he will add to the traditional oath of being Defender of the Anglican Faith a commitment to defend all faiths as well.
In the back and forth between the palace and Downing Street that occurs with the changes of prime minister, Lis Truss went to say goodbye to Carlos III and gave a speech in front of the portal of number 10. «It has been an enormous honor to be prime minister of this country and , in particular, leading the nation in mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth” and “in welcoming the king’s accession,” he said.
Although she was repudiated by her party 45 days after her nomination, she delivered a speech vindicating her ideas and her period as governor. After that time, the shortest in the history of the British heads of government, Truss leaves “more convinced than ever that we need to be daring.” She did not express any regrets for having partly caused a financial crisis.
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