Kwasi Kwarteng, the British finance minister has been removed from his post
Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng was dismissed from office on Friday, October 14, 2022. © Henry Nicholls / REUTERS
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2 mins
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Liz Truss has been under pressure for 24 hours, summoned by the markets and her own camp to abandon some of her fiscal measures.
At the end of September, his finance minister presented a mini-budget filled with unfunded tax cuts, which caused the pound to fall.
For the moment, no U-turn, but Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announces his resignation.
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With our correspondent in London,
Emeline Vin
Kwasi Kwarteng posted a tweet around 1 p.m. (local time) where he confirmed that the Prime Minister asked him to resign, which he accepted.
He will therefore have spent less than 40 days at 11 Downing Street, one of the shortest terms in history for a finance minister.
In this letter, Kwasi Kwarteng explains that he had accepted the position “
knowing full well that the situation we face was incredibly difficult, with rising interest rates around the world and energy prices
”.
The one who is sometimes called "
political soul mate
" of Liz Truss says: "
Your vision of optimism, growth and change is the right one
".
Clearly, the Chancellor does not admit that his tax plan published at the end of September is responsible for the panic in the markets for three weeks.
pic.twitter.com/4nvtyGWCoA
— Kwasi Kwarteng (@KwasiKwarteng) October 14, 2022
Who to take his place?
Liz Truss must hold a press conference in the afternoon where she could come back to certain measures of this plan, in particular the cancellation of the increase in corporate tax... Which would have made cohabitation impossible with the craftsman of the mini-budget.
Who now to succeed Kwasi Kwarteng?
Silence for the moment on the side of Downing Street.
Among the names mentioned: Sajid Javid, former holder of the post under Boris Johnson, Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey, or Nadhim Zahawi, Kwarteng's predecessor, who had stayed for two months.
►Also read: The United Kingdom on the brink of recession
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