Can stone kingdom Sunak end the British chaos?

Wolfgang Hansson 

Published: Less than 2 hours ago 

 

Updated: Less than 2 hours ago 

 

This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's. 

 

COLUMNISTS 

 

The hope is that Rishi Sunak will end the political chaos in Britain and within the Conservative Party. But it is far from certain that he will succeed. 

 

Boris Johnson's shadow and Brexit continue to create uncertainty. 

 

Judging by all the pats on the back, applause and kisses outside the party headquarters, Rishi Sunak's success as the new prime minister should be a given. 

 

He gave an explanation himself in his 90-second victory speech when he told his party colleagues that for the party it was "unite or die". 

 

Recent protracted leadership battles where two Conservative prime ministers have been forced to bite the bullet in the space of a few months have created open wounds in the party. Wounds that will take time to heal even though Sunak appears to have the party's confidence for the time being despite being seen as the one who stabbed Boris Johnson in the back. 

 

It is easy to forget that it is less than two months ago that he lost a bitter leadership battle against Liz Truss who represents Johnson's phalanx in the party. One who both wants to sharply lower taxes and at the same time increase public spending. 

 

Sunak stands for more responsible state finances. 

 

Just as fully, he takes over in an extremely difficult situation. 

 

The Tory party has lost massive public opinion since Boris Johnson delivered a landslide victory in the 2019 election. If an election were held today, the party would more or less be wiped out and Labor would take power. 

 

Now Sunak has two years to turn the tide and ensure that the party can regain the trust of the voters. Now if he can sit that long. 

 

Rishi Sunak waves from 10 Downing Street. Photo: Alastair Grant/AP 

 

Bottom record 

 

Reasonably, he has a good chance of surviving Liz Truss' hard-hit record low of just six weeks in the prime ministership. But there are no guarantees that he will lead the party in the next election, which must be held no later than January 2025. 

 

Many of the problems that caused Britain to break a new record for prime ministers, five different ones since the Brexit vote in 2016, remain. 

 

Brexit bears a large part of the blame for the economic crisis that the country has found itself in. Companies have moved their operations within the borders of the EU in order not to miss out on the benefits of EU membership. New investors hesitate to invest in the UK where, due to so many EU citizens leaving the country, there is a shortage of labor in many sectors. 

 

Inflation is over ten percent, higher than in comparable EU countries. 

While the EU is working together to tackle the energy crisis, the British are in many ways alone. 

 

The Conservatives promised that Brexit would be a success. So far it has been more of a dip. 

 

Boris Johnson, who promised the most, on Sunday gave up his bid to become prime minister again, paving the way for Sunak. 

 

Boris realized that too little time had passed for him to be able to return as party leader. But that does not mean that he has given up for good the dream of a comeback worthy of Churchill. 

 

Bojo's shadow will constantly hang over Sunak as a threat. Johnson is still a popular politician among broad sections of the population.

 

Rishi Sunak takes over as Prime Minister from Liz Truss. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP 

 

Comet career

 

Rishi Sunak has had a meteoric political career. From new Member of Parliament to Prime Minister in just seven years. Despite his relative freshness, he is still fairly experienced. Sunak was finance minister during the pandemic and the one who had to direct various rescue packages. Something he generally received passing marks for. Before becoming a politician, he worked in the financial sector at, among others, Goldman Sachs. 

 

Sunak breaks new ground by becoming the first non-white British Prime Minister. He has roots in India but was born and raised in the UK. 

 

Sunak is married to the daughter of a wealthy Indian entrepreneur in the tech industry. According to information in the British media, the Sunak family is worth close to ten billion kroner. Thus, the new Prime Minister is significantly richer than King Charles. 

 

But the wife has not only contributed money but also scandals. When it came to light that she tried to avoid tax on foreign income by not being fully registered in the UK, the finance minister got a hard time. 

 

Until she agreed to pay UK tax. At 42, Sunak is the second youngest in the post. 

 

Most of all, Sunak's problem is that he is not elected by the people. He is a Prime Minister appointed by his own parliamentary colleagues and thus lacks the legitimacy that the Johnsons had. 

 

Nevertheless, Sunak's main task will be to try to avoid a new election for as long as possible.