aAmbition without ability will hurt you. And if your ambitions are related to public office, it will do far more damage than your broken ego. The damage could be to a sizable economy and to the once imperial nation. This is just one of many lessons from a sad, regrettable and hurtful saga imparted by Liz Truss.
And the race continues. Again. Rishi Sunak is back in business. But I’m not sure he can really get any satisfaction in saying “I told you so” anymore! Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will undoubtedly return to the fray, who worked hard but will now claim he can at least hold the talentless but greedy Tories together, while still having a good laugh all along. I’m not sure the British public is in a joking mood at the moment.
crumbling tories
The British economy is burning. And the Conservative Party, a self-styled party of power and money, is burning fast. The United Kingdom is set to become its third prime minister in less than a year and there are still two months left in the year!
Extravagant visuals, tweets, memes and other things have captured British life for over two weeks. Elected by party members, Liz Truss was not a favorite among Tory lawmakers, who rated Sunak above her. Truss was elected as leader, despite his apparent and utter failure in the election of leadership to address urgent questions of the economy, the looming energy crisis and the ongoing conflicts with the European Union (EU). Why, you may ask. No, please don’t run again.
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The fall of the truss began with Thatcher
His love for then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher and his mantra of “do less, grow higher” which Truss parroted to fulfill, both installed him as leader – albeit for 45 days – and his Why was the ending also the fastest in British history? Thatcher, ghost and all, is now or should really end.
Even as he channeled Thatcher’s high eighties style and demeanor, the end of the truce showed that the politics of image won’t save you in a real world of crisis and global challenges. In this mediocre age of politics where strategists, spin doctors and various communication experts bang on about the centrality of ‘face’ power, privileged hard messages and slow work of the party, ideas, competence and propaganda forever on record . Liz Truss was his creature, as she played in his copybook. At your own risk and that of the UK. Significantly, during the 12 years of Tory rule so far, experts have come to the fore again and again at the hands of populists.
Truss’s short-lived chancellor Quasi Quarteng with a bang declared a mini-budget that was swiftly hailed as an ‘economy phenomenon’ and pushed Britain into an overnight economic catastrophe. The purpose of Quarteng’s budget was to copy and replicate Thatcher’s long-standing divisive ideas and policies. Taxes were cut for the wealthy, while £60 billion was being borrowed as sovereign debt to subsidize energy bills and other public goods for the country. It was high-octane populism for the very rich, aiming to appeal to the poor and struggling.
After this outrageous plan was heavily rejected by all major financial players, including the Bank of England, replaying Thatcherite principles, undermining his image, was not going to save the truce. The pound was battered and inflation rose overnight. Mortgages became prohibitive and pensions lost their value. This was Britain’s demonetisation moment. Ideological positioning and image-building at the expense of economic foundations have, at least on this occasion, rightfully extracted their political cost.
In an attempt to control the situation, Truss deserts his chancellor, who was apparently on a suicide mission.,The apt name has now been changed to ‘Kamikaze Quarteng’. Only that he was immediately blindsided by another high-octane, sharp, right-wing theory of immigration. Indian-origin Suella (called Cruella) Braverman’s surprisingly prejudicial views on the breed have now stalled free trade agreements with India. However, it was not he who triggered the end of the truss. Rather, Braverman’s resignation letter, which did not do the opposite, but rather reprimanded Truss for not sticking to his right-wing guns, killed Truss’s career. The greatest damage was done when the truce failed to accept any of its decisions, let alone authority with any degree of conviction.
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harsh right-wing politics versus reality
The Tories are now completely in the death spiral of their creation. After showing compassion in its policies for the underprivileged, a majority of more than 80 seats was forged mainly by victory over the Labor heartlands, which now looks utterly fragile. Truss went back to Tory basics in pursuit of dangerous principles and in the name of ideological correctness. Upper right wing politics on nationalism and populism could not stand the clear light of reality.
Last time, Thatcher’s children were ousted by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who famously said that “the only difference between compassionate conservatism and conservatism is that under compassionate conservatism they are not going to help you.” But they’re really sorry for that.” Truss has already apologized. But it is neither kind nor honest. the damage is done. At least in these islands of Europe, the populist politics high on xenophobia, ideological correctness and nationalist pride, all banking on the power of the image, is finally on the verge of its death. Other populist democracies should keep watching.
Shruti Kapila’s Professor Indian History and Global Political Thought at the University of Cambridge. She tweets @shrutikapila. thoughts are personal
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)