LONDON
- Britons are few weeks away from knowing their new prime minister, who will succeed outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and as the deadline for a vote on a new Conservative leader approaches, the two candidates intensify the competition: Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.
Until a few months ago, none of the political observers expected that the two would be close to the post of prime minister, neither of them had any political weight before the crack of Boris Johnson's government, but the British political scene carries drama and suspense in its genes, and just as Johnson's resignation was dramatic, the name of his successor will be Surprising to many.
History descends with all its weight in this election, in which 180,000 conservatives will vote to choose a new leader, and history will come through the gate of the "Iron Lady";
That title held by the most famous Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, a title that the British media - especially the right-wing ones - are trying to attribute to Liz Truss.
If Sunak succeeds, he will be Britain's first color prime minister (Reuters)
date with history
As for Rishi Sunak, the minister of treasury and brilliant businessmen, he will have a date with history if he succeeds in reaching the premiership, to be the first prime minister of color and of immigrant origins to reach this position, which is the card that may play against him in these elections.
What distinguishes these elections is that the Conservative Party base or those involved in this party will decide it, and these are a bloc dominated by a right-wing and conservative orientation, and therefore the current scene leads to the fact that 3 opinion polls give the lead in favor of Liz Truss by a comfortable difference, according to the Politico website. The Conservative Party (357 members) most of them put their trust in Sunak, but the rules will have the final say with their majority.
But the question arises: why did the Conservatives prefer Liz Truss over other names that entered the race for the premiership position?
There is no convincing answer other than that she is a conservative figure, ready to carry the most conservative policies without hesitation, and the ability to move from one situation to its opposite without any problem, in addition to a right-wing propaganda machine that supports her candidacy.
Several newspapers are keen to describe Truss as the "Iron Lady" (Getty Images)
iron woman
Searching for the name of Liz Truss, many articles and analyzes appear about her personality, but what is interesting is the keenness of certain newspapers to link the name of Liz Truss to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and describe her as the "Iron Woman". All of them are conservative right-wing newspapers, and some are also populist.
In this matter there is a lot of "irony of history";
Fliz Truss, throughout her academic career and the beginning of her political career, was far from the right, first because she was born into a family that voted for the left-wing Labor Party, and some of her family circles even belong to the far left.
Liz Truss joined the Liberal Democratic Party, and there she had positions very far from the right, such as her demand for licensing the consumption of cannabis, and a fierce advocate of the right to abortion, and in 1994 she gave a speech calling for the abolition of the monarchy, because it is an antiquated institution, she said.
Despite this "revolutionary" policy, in 1996 Truss joined the Conservative Party, and within two years she moved from anti-monarchy to the most royalist party in the United Kingdom.
Who will become the next British Prime Minister?
🇬🇧
🔸 Liz Truss
🔹 Rishi Sunak
pic.twitter.com/mxJMOcI4MC
— Britain in Arabic 🇬🇧 (@TheUKAr) July 25, 2022
government positions
This fluctuation in positions affected the course of Truss later, knowing that her political life is rather short, she did not become a parliamentarian until 2010, and held a number of government positions, but the spotlight was never on her.
It was known about Liz Truss that she was one of the staunch defenders of the option to remain in the European Union, and she tweeted at her expense, declaring her "support for everyone who will vote for the option to remain with the European Union because this serves the interests of the British economy," after which she will turn into the strongest defenders of "Brexit", and raise Brigade militancy with the European Union in negotiations with the Europeans.
Truss will remain faithful to her approach to taking the position and its opposite even during her election campaign;
At first, it announced that its program aims to reduce salaries in a number of public jobs to provide the state treasury with about 10 billion dollars, before criticism from all sides rained down on it, and it announced a retreat from this economic program.
Britain's Obama
Like Liz Truss, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is new to holding senior positions in his country. He did not become a Conservative parliamentarian until 2010, and held small government positions in Theresa May's government, before becoming Treasurer in 2020 in the government of Boris Johnson.
Sonak was born to parents of Indian origin, who came to Britain, so the father worked in medicine and the mother owned a pharmacy, which gave him a comfortable financial situation, which qualified him to enter the prestigious Oxford University.
For years, Rishi Sunak has been away from politics, as he was busy in the field of finance and business, and worked as an advisor to the largest banking institutions in the world.
Sonak is often known as one of the richest politicians in the country, and this is due to the wealth of his wife, who is one of the richest women in the United Kingdom, and about her wealth raised a lot of controversy after it was revealed that her companies benefited from tax havens away from Britain.
In normal circumstances, Sunak may be the right man to lead the country in its worst economic conditions, where inflation is the highest in 40 years, and economic stagnation, as he showed skill in dealing with the Corona epidemic, and managed the UK treasury well.
However, the Conservative Party base has other accounts and questions. Will Sunak reach the prime ministership, who is of immigrant origin, and of color?
To achieve what Barack Obama has achieved in the United States, but initial indications show that the conservative party base is not yet ready to accept this.