- In the race to succeed outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the inner-party election campaign between the remaining candidates is taking on bitter tones.
- On Monday evening, Foreign Minister Liz Truss and ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak competed against each other in a first TV duel.
- In the coming weeks, members of the Conservative Tory Party will decide which of the two will move into Downing Street in September.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss spoke out in favor of immediate tax cuts in the hour-long TV debate in Stoke-on-Trent. At the same time, she accused her rival candidate and ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak of raising taxes to their highest level in 70 years during his tenure.
Sunak, in turn, described Truss’ plan as an “irresponsible” and short-term strategy that amounts to a “sugar shock” and is “certainly not conservative”. He promises tax breaks for company investments and for the income of working people, but Sunak wants to wait for further tax cuts.
China course was already in the run-up to talk
In the run-up to the TV duel, there was an exchange of blows between the two candidates to succeed Boris Johnson. Rishi Sunak wants to take a tougher stance towards China and, if elected, announced the closure of all Chinese Confucius Institutes, some of which Liz Truss helped open as Minister of Education. Western politicians had “rolled out the red carpet” for China for too long, according to a statement.
Secretary of State Truss did not have to wait long for a counterattack: in a statement, she accused Sunak of having been too “soft” on China up until now. The China Global Times also supported his candidacy as prime minister.
Culture Minister and Truss supporter Nadine Dorries shared a report from the “Daily Mail” on Twitter on Monday, in which the ex-Finance Minister’s luxury wardrobe is analyzed in detail. The wealth of his family is considered the 42-year-old’s point of attack. Truss, on the other hand, wears £4.50 earrings, Dorries claimed.
The online magazine “Politico” commented on the direct attacks by the two candidates as “hurting and unrelenting”. The openly displayed hostility is unusual for an internal party election campaign. The newspaper “i” also described the fight as “toxic”.
At the same time, some loyalists to outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson are already working on his comeback: a petition calling for party members to vote on Johnson’s possible return had already reached 10,000 signatures by Saturday evening, according to the “Telegraph”. .