British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street in London, December 20, 2022 (AFP/Archives/Niklas HALLE’N)
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday defended in his New Year’s greetings the “difficult but fair” budgetary decisions taken in the face of soaring prices and said he was counting on the coronation of Charles III to bring the British together in 2023.
“2022 has been a difficult year,” said the head of government in his wishes broadcast by Downing Street, noting the effects of the pandemic and the “barbaric” invasion of Ukraine.
“Many of you have felt the effects directly. That’s why my government took tough but fair decisions to get borrowing and debt under control,” he said, saying it helped impose a shield on energy tariffs which had already almost doubled.
The Conservative leader came to power in October after the brief stint in Downing Street of Liz Truss, whose plans for massive, unfunded tax cuts spooked the markets.
In response, Rishi Sunak reversed almost all of these measures, resulting in a tax hike. He also refuses the wage increases demanded by public service employees such as nurses, ambulance attendants, border police, whose recent strikes in the face of inflation (more than 10%) have fueled social movements unprecedented for decades.
“I’m not going to pretend that all our problems will disappear in the new year. But 2023 will give us the opportunity to show the best of the UK on the world stage,” he claimed, citing support for the Ukraine and the coronation of Charles III, scheduled for May 6 after his accession to the throne on September 8 following the death of Elizabeth II.
“In this historic year of the coronation of His Majesty the King, we will come together with pride in all that makes this country great,” he said.
According to the British press, if the palace is preparing a more modest and modern coronation than that of Elizabeth II in 1953, it also intends to take advantage of this spectacle broadcast around the world to make it a showcase for the country.
© 2022 AFP
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