Liz Truss took office as British Prime Minister 41 days ago. Now she’s on the verge of extinction. Because not only citizens and opposition practice harsh criticism. In her party, too, Truss’ opponents are already pawing their hooves.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss faces harsh criticism and calls for her replacement after the appointment of a new finance minister. Even US President Joe Biden described the Prime Minister’s now-abandoned tax cut package as a “mistake”, while British media speculated over the weekend about Truss’s successor.
“I think the game is over and now the question is how the successor will be arranged,” said long-time Conservative MP Crispin Blunt on TV channel 4. Truss had fired Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday and former Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt replaced.
The background is the multi-billion dollar tax cut package of the conservative government under Truss, which had led to unrest on the financial markets due to the threat of high national debt and to massive resentment in the ranks of the conservative governing party.
She listened and understood, wrote Truss, who took office just 41 days ago, in an article in the Sun on Sunday newspaper on Sunday. “We cannot pave the way to a low-tax, high-growth economy without gaining market confidence in our commitment to a strong currency,” she said.
To appease investors, Truss’ new Treasury Secretary Hunt warned that taxes could even be increased. On Saturday he announced “difficult decisions” to correct the economic plans. A finance minister “cannot control the markets,” Hunt told Sky News. But he could show “that we can finance our projects through taxes and expenses,” said Hunt.
All ministries would have to hold back on spending, said Hunt, who spoke publicly for the first time since his appointment. Some taxes “won’t be lowered as quickly as people would like. Some taxes will go up,” announced Hunt.
“Mistakes” were made in the budget plans. The Prime Minister admitted those mistakes, which is why he’s here, Hunt said. At the same time, he made it clear that he shared the “fundamentals” of their economic project. On Sunday, Hunt met with Truss at their country home to finalize a new budget, which is due to be unveiled on October 31.
But many are already questioning Truss’ whereabouts in office. According to reports from The Sunday Times and The Sunday Express, Tory members have submitted up to 100 letters expressing their no confidence in the Prime Minister. The “Sunday Times” even described Truss as “an empty vessel without politics or power”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, also criticized Truss’ economic policy in an interview with the Guardian. The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church said he was “deeply skeptical” that tax cuts for the wealthy would benefit anyone else. On Saturday, US President Biden voiced similar criticism, calling Truss’ tax cut plans a “mistake”.
Reportedly, opponents of Truss’s possible successor include former Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak, who ran against Truss for the leadership of the Tory Party, and Conservative Penny Mordaunt. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace could also be a compromise candidate, the Sunday Mirror reported.
Tory MP Robert Halfon, who backed Sunak’s candidacy, compared Truss and Kwarteng to “libertarian jihadists” engaged in “ultra-libertarian free-market experiments”. He told the Sky News broadcaster that after the poll numbers had plummeted, it was inevitable that his party colleagues would talk about what to do about it.
Truss was elected by the Tory members as the new party leader and thus automatically became head of government. A new party leader would now be under strong pressure to call early general elections – but the opposition Labor party is way ahead in the polls.
