The new British Prime Minister Truss should actually explain her political agenda and then tackle the country’s pressing problems. But much is lost during the mourning period after the death of the Queen. She only has a good two years before parliamentary elections are due.
The United Kingdom has not experienced a week like this in its recent history. Just last Monday, Boris Johnson was prime minister and Elizabeth II was queen. Only a few days later, Great Britain has a new head of government with Liz Truss – and since the death of the Queen with Charles III. a new king. “This is a constitutional upheaval unknown in modern times,” the Sun newspaper notes. For Truss in particular, the start in the new office is a special challenge. It is now up to her to raise the grieving nation up again. Many Britons would probably trust their much more eloquent predecessor Johnson to play this role. The fact that Truss failed in the first audience with the new Knicks head of state also caused ridicule on the Internet – and is not the best start visually. But in such a turbulent week, that should be quickly forgotten.
Nevertheless: The 47-year-old does not get a rest period. High inflation, rising energy prices and a full-blown NHS health crisis are just the most pressing concerns. But after less than 48 hours in Downing Street, the previous Foreign Secretary was slowed down. Or, as The Times puts it: “Liz Truss was hit by a hurricane.” There is national mourning until the Queen’s funeral. That means: no official events, no government announcements. Parliament only meets to commemorate the Queen.
So Truss can neither set their projects in motion nor present them to the public. The fact that trips abroad are also canceled for the time being means that the Prime Minister, contrary to her plans, cannot go to Ukraine as soon as possible. At the beginning of the term of office, that would also have produced nice pictures for the voters at home. Because on top of people’s concerns, Truss will probably only have about two years, possibly less, to get her Conservative Party back on track before the general election scheduled for 2024.
In polls, the opposition party Labor is ahead. Truss accompanies the new king to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales this week. But she will remain there in the background, as can be heard from “Number 10”. This is obviously to avoid the thought that Truss is trying to get himself into the picture. The fact that she now has to wait another week before she can start her 2.0 office should be all the more annoying for the head of government because, according to experts, the start was quite successful. Although not the first speech after the appointment on Tuesday, Truss was once again wooden and robotic. But on Wednesday, when she fought a duel with opposition leader Keir Starmer from the Labor Party in Parliament on her first full day in office.
Significantly friendlier in tone than Johnson, consistent on the matter and significantly improved in terms of language and rhetoric – her faction, in which Truss only came second behind her competitor Rishi Sunak in the selection process, in contrast to the vote in the party base, seemed impressed. At least when Truss hurled at Starmer: “There’s nothing new about a Labor leader calling for more tax increases. It’s the old tax and spend.” The deputies behind her cheered. Now it will be a question of closing ranks and, above all, of putting their politics in motion.
When Truss received word in the middle of a parliamentary session on Thursday that the Queen was unlikely to survive the day, she had just announced her plan to combat skyrocketing gas and electricity prices. To do this, Truss wants to put together a huge billion-dollar package and freeze prices – an enormous contradiction to their announcements that the state is not interfering in the market. But amid concerns that millions would be plunged into energy poverty, Truss had to deliver. The measure will come into effect on October 1st. But since Parliament is pausing again for the party conferences, which begin at the end of September, there is not much time. The procedure for Truss is particularly important. Because experts are certain: Your project – and above all its effect – will define your term of office after only a short time in the job.
