Britain has a new prime minister – for the third time in two months. Rishi Sunak takes over. Significant challenges lie ahead for the newcomers to Downing Street.
Rishi Sunak is the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Exactly seven weeks after his predecessor Liz Truss took office, the 42-year-old was inaugurated by King Charles III. tasked with forming a government at Buckingham Palace, the PA news agency reported after the audience.
Earlier, in an audience, Charles had formally removed Truss from office. Only the monarch has the right to appoint the premier. Sunak is the third prime minister in two months, the youngest prime minister in more than 200 years, and the first Hindu and first Indian politician to hold office. An official photo shows the monarch shaking hands with the new head of government.
After the audience with Charles, the former Treasury Secretary wanted to address the nation from Downing Street. He was elected the new leader by his Conservative Party on Monday, and thus also the future prime minister. Apart from him, no other MP had reached the required number of at least 100 supporters in the Tory group.
Truss announced her resignation on Thursday after just 44 days in office. With a radical tax reform, she triggered considerable turbulence on the financial markets. After harsh criticism, including from within her own ranks, she had to backtrack and quickly lost her authority. Sunak, on the other hand, is considered a “steady hand”. He had already applied to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the summer, but lost to Truss. He had sharply criticized their economic plans at the time – and was right.
Significant problems await the married father of two daughters. He needs to win back the confidence of the markets. Analysts trust him. It is likely to be more difficult to reunite his recently deeply divided Conservative Party. It is therefore eagerly awaited who Sunak will appoint to his cabinet. If he exchanges too many ministers, he could make new enemies.
The opposition criticizes that Sunak is the second conservative prime minister in a row who did not come into office with a parliamentary election and calls for new elections. Sunak refuses. The Tories claim that the party and not a politician got the mandate from the electorate. Polls see the Conservatives trailing far behind the largest opposition party, Labour.
