In exactly one month, the British will have a new head of government. According to polls, Secretary of State Liz Truss is the frontrunner. Her opponent, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, had the opportunity on Thursday night to lure members of the Conservative Party into a televised debate.
UK correspondent Lea van Beekhoven, who has followed the House of Representatives, said that not only is Liz Truss leading the race for Downing Street, but her progress now is so great that the public wondered if it would be best for Sunak to voluntarily throw in the towel.”
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Van Beekhoven believes that this introduction has good reason. Ahead of the debate, the Bank of England warned of a prolonged recession, and the would-be prime minister showed the gears of decisiveness in the debate. This is precisely one of the reasons for Truss’ popularity among party members. She has a resolute optimism, just like Boris Johnson.
Economic Demons
In fact she says ‘what the Bank of England expects may not come true’, and ‘Prime Minister Truss can cast out the economic demons,’ van Beekhoven continues. So she takes a very different approach from Sunak.
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According to Van Beckhoven, Sunak has a more realistic view of the British monetary situation. He says all the lights are red in the British economy because of inflation. When Sunak brings more of the same, Truss is extreme. Someone who wants changes, just as it has changed its position over the years regarding Brexit, Ukraine, the monarchy, etc.
Cucumber
The choice is now up to Conservative Party members, according to Van Beckhoven. The choice is between the reasonable and stable candidate who promises more of the same, the more exciting and the unpredictable, the more likely candidate, and who takes more risks. Sunak was the debate winner, but Truss still had the best chance of succeeding Johnson.
