The vote for the new Prime Minister concludes in the UK

A vote that comes after months of scandals and uncertainty.

The last word on who will be the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was given this Friday, September 2, three months after the controversial resignation of Boris Johnson.

At 4:00 in the afternoon, local time, the last vote to define his successor closed, a struggle between the Secretary of Foreign Relations, Liz Truss, and the former head of the Economy portfolio, Rishi Sunak.

According to the country’s legislation, when the prime minister resigns, only his own political party carries out a new voting process to replace him as leader of the movement and as head of government.

Around 160,000 ‘Tories’ were able to cast their vote by mail or electronically.

However, the result will be reported to the public until next Monday, September 5. On Tuesday, Johnson and his surrogate or surrogate for him will appear before the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, for a due process hearing.

Buckingham Palace reported this week that the event will take place at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and not in London, as initially planned, due to ongoing mobility problems experienced by the 96-year-old queen.

It will be the first time in 70 years that the sovereign receives the new prime minister on Scottish soil and not at the official residence of the royal family in the British capital.

It is expected that on Wednesday the 7th, after formally assuming power before the monarch, the new leader will present his team of ministers in Downing Street.

Between “the new iron lady” and Johnson’s “great enemy”

Liz Truss appears as the favorite to lead the Government, according to local press reports. Opinion polls for her place her far ahead of her competitor, the former finance minister.

With repeated nods to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and a formula to deal with the inflation crisis focused on low taxes and liberal economic measures, Truss has obtained the title of ‘Iron Lady’ from the British press.

This is the description that at the time was given by the Soviet media to Thatcher, remembered for his strong character and his strong opposition to communism, as well as for his role in the Malvinas War, with Argentina, a decisive conflict in his political career. .

But in Truss’s case, experts highlight his harsh rhetoric against Russia and China. Also its recent head-on clashes with the European Union, which would threaten a trade war.

In fact, Truss is the promoter of the law that will allow London to break the Brexit agreement. Despite the fact that she defended the permanence of the United Kingdom in the 27-country bloc during the 2016 campaign, she later showed herself to be a strong defender of the “opportunities” that her country would have after the divorce from Brussels.

Change of idea or political strategy? Questioned about her change of position, she has assured that she was wrong because her fears of economic collapse in the face of a separation have not been fulfilled.

However, Truss’s new position has made her worthy of the support of the most eurosceptic wing of the ‘tories’, which monopolized power after the arrival of Johnson as leader of the Government.

Meanwhile, Sunak is labeled by the country’s media as a “great enemy” of the outgoing prime minister.

The 42-year-old politician resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer last July, in protest at the ethics scandal known as ‘Partygate’, the Downing Street parties of the premier and other employees as the nation went through a harsh lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his resignation letter, Sunak stressed that standards of good conduct “matter” and distanced himself from the lack of “seriousness and competence” of the still – until September 6 – Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

During the internal campaign, Sunak has promised more aid to face the exponential increase in energy prices in the coming winter.

The challenges for the new British Prime Minister

Precisely one of the priority issues of Johnson’s successor will be dealing with the sharp increase in the price of electricity, in addition to the high costs of living.

Year-on-year inflation in the nation stands at 10.1% and could be even worse because the Bank of England anticipated that it could reach 13% at the end of this year.

Political challenges also await the new premier. The three-month long process to replace the leader of Downing Street has shown a confrontation that will probably not end with the appointment of a new head of government.

The wounds are open in a movement that has been in power for 12 years and pointed out as being largely responsible for triggering inflation that two weeks ago reached double digits for the first time in 40 years.

The entrenched recession and currency volatility also have the political movement on the ropes, amid internal accusations.

Whoever is confirmed as the new leader of the Government will undoubtedly face one of the most challenging periods in recent British history, coupled with global crises such as the war in Ukraine and climate change.

With EFE and local media