Will he be able to get the country out of the political and financial crisis in which it has been plunged for several months? Rishi Sunak was nominated by the British Conservatives to be the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Monday October 24, following the departure of Liz Truss from Downing Street on Thursday.
As the Conservatives are in the majority in the House of Commons, Mr. Sunak will be instructed on Tuesday by King Charles III to form a new government. A first for the new sovereign, who acceded to the throne on September 8 with the death of his mother Elizabeth II.
Unlucky candidate this summer against the former British prime minister, who resigned after only 44 days in power, the 42-year-old former British finance minister benefited from the renunciation of the former head of the British government, Boris Johnson . His other opponent, Penny Mordaunt, also threw in the towelMonday afternoon.
Supported by more than half of the Conservative MPs, Mr. Sunak announced his candidacy on Sunday evening. On the occasion of his first speech after his victory, the forties promised on Monday to bring “stability and unity” It front of “deep economic difficulties” that the UK is experiencing. “Bringing the party and the country together will be my top priority”he said in a short speech: “It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve the party I love and to give back to the country to which I owe so much. »
“Congratulations to Rishi Sunak (…). Working together is the only way to face common challenges… And bringing stability is the key to overcoming them”, reacted on Twitter the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
First non-white man to head the government
Grandson of immigrants of Indian origin with a classic background of the British elite, Rishi Sunak, a wealthy former banker, will become the first non-white to lead the government.
The former chancellor, guardian of budgetary orthodoxy and workaholic, seduces a large part of his camp while the country is going through a severe economic and social crisis, with inflation at more than 10% and strikes which are multiplying. The situation has continued to deteriorate in recent months as the government has been paralyzed by the successive upheavals agitating the majority and has been further aggravated by the mistakes of Liz Truss which have destabilized the markets and caused the pound sterling to fall.
Mr. Sunak had regularly denounced Liz Truss’ economic plan this summer and he appears to be a reassuring figure for the British markets. On Monday, the pound sterling rose with the possibility of the appointment of the former finance minister as head of government.
Rishi Sunak will be the fifth tenant of 10 Downing Street since the Brexit referendum in 2016, which opened a page of unprecedented economic and political turbulence in the United Kingdom.
