LONDON —
Rishi Sunak on Tuesday became Britain’s third prime minister this year and the
first person of color to lead the former imperial power, vowing to overcome
economic crisis provoked by the “mistakes” of Liz Truss calamitous 49-day
tenure.
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Sunak addressed
the nation outside 10 Downing Street shortly after his appointment by King
Charles III, capping the latest extraordinary twist in UK politics following
Boris Johnson’s demise in July.
“Right now our
country is facing a profound economic crisis,” said the former finance
minister, a practicing Hindu who at 42 is Britain’s youngest leader since 1812.
“I will unite our
country — not with words, but with action,” Sunak said, also pledging
unstinting support for
Ukraine even while warning of “difficult” budget choices
ahead.
Departing shortly
before, Sunak’s predecessor Truss wished him “every success” — and said she
remained “more convinced than ever” that Britain needed to be “bold” in
confronting the challenges it faced.
Sunak countered
that the disastrous budget that felled Truss was motivated by a
well-intentioned desire to kick-start growth, but its tax-cutting measures were
“mistakes nonetheless”.
“And I have been
elected as leader of my party and your prime minister in part to fix them,” he
said.
“And that work
begins immediately. I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart
of this government’s agenda,” he added, helping to drive the pound more than
one percent higher against the dollar Tuesday.
Sunak became the
ruling Conservatives’ new leader on Monday after rival contender Penny
Mordaunt, failed to secure enough nominations from Tory MPs.
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