UK Foreign Secretary Truss Makes Dramatic Comeback in Final Race... Competing with Sunak for Next Prime Minister

Foreign Minister Liz Truss and former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, who have been selected as the final candidates for the next British Prime Minister
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Liz Truss, the UK Foreign Secretary, succeeded in a dramatic comeback in the final fourth round of the leadership contest, becoming the final candidate alongside former Chancellor Rishi Sunak for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party and the next UK Prime Minister.

According to major foreign media on the 20th (local time), in the fourth and final round of the Conservative Party leadership and next Prime Minister election, former Chancellor Sunak maintained first place with the support of 137 Conservative MPs. Truss, who had ranked third in the first to third rounds, secured 113 votes and rose to second place in the final round. Penny Mordaunt, Minister of State for International Trade, who had consistently held second place, received only 105 votes and was pushed down to third place. As a result, the final runoff vote, to be decided on September 5 by postal voting of all 180,000 Conservative Party members, will be a contest between former Chancellor Sunak and Foreign Secretary Truss.

Although Sunak ranked first in all four rounds, there are forecasts that Truss could stage another comeback in the runoff vote. In YouGov polls, when Sunak and Truss face off in the final vote, Truss has consistently shown an advantage.

The UK daily The Independent reported that Truss’s supporters consider her the new "Iron Lady." In fact, Truss has attracted attention during her political career for evoking the image of Margaret Thatcher. When Truss visited Russia in February this year, she wore a fur coat and hat, which drew media attention as it was analyzed to be similar to the outfit Thatcher wore in Red Square during her 1987 visit to the Soviet Union. Many Conservative Party members are older white men who nostalgically remember the Thatcher era, leading to expectations that Truss could win the runoff vote.

On the other hand, Truss’s weakness is her lack of popularity among the general electorate. There are forecasts that if Truss becomes leader, the Conservative Party could lose the government it has held for over ten years to the Labour Party. Currently, the Conservative Party’s support rate is about 10 percentage points behind Labour.

Unlike Truss, former Chancellor Sunak has been seen as the only Conservative candidate who can win in a prime minister preference contest against Labour leader Keir Starmer since before the leadership election began.

While Truss advocates for tax cuts, Sunak is opposed to them. During his tenure as Chancellor, he actually pushed for increases in corporate and income taxes. His opposition to tax cuts and government fiscal spending is considered a factor that makes him unpopular among Conservative Party members. He also needs to overcome his rebellious image from clashing with Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his time as Chancellor and the wealthy image associated with his and his wife’s assets reportedly worth $900 million.

Truss, who transformed into a Brexit supporter after serving as Trade Secretary and Foreign Secretary, voted against Brexit in the 2016 referendum. It is expected that she will need to explain this change of position during the upcoming leadership contest. Former Chancellor Sunak voted in favor of Brexit.

The first two-person TV debate between former Chancellor Sunak and Foreign Secretary Truss is scheduled for the 25th. Following that, election campaigns will continue in 12 regions. Ballots are expected to be distributed to Conservative Party members in early August.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.