After her frantic effort to thwart a coup with her budget U-turn, British voters are doubting Liz Truss’ ability to hold onto power for the foreseeable future.
The media is also attacking the troubled prime leader, who took office only 42 days ago, all around the globe.
Global newspapers suggest that the British leader is nearing the end of her life and that the appointment of Jeremy Hunt as chancellor might be the deciding factor.
On a momentous day, Mr. Hunt overturned almost all of her signature initiatives, and Ms. Truss skipped a Commons discussion in favor of her likely replacement Penny Mordaunt.
Similar scorn has been directed at the British press in Europe, with the Blick tabloid in Switzerland stating: “Hunt is Truss’s saviour – or her coffin nail.”
Time is running out for Truss, according to Sweden’s Expressen, while Germany’s Bild questioned if the British prime minister will resign this week.
After “backtracking” on her huge expenditure reform plans, Ms. Truss may set the record for the shortest tenure as UK prime minister ever, according to France’s Le Figaro.
The prime minister still “clings to power,” according to Spain’s El Mundo, while La Repubblica in Italy focused on her assertions that she has “fixed” her problems.
The state-owned English-language China Daily tabloid in China made a cheeky jab at Britain, stating: “Truss leadership in risk as storm clouds rise in UK.”
Ms. Truss is “suffering the terrible humiliation” of having to entirely forsake her economic vision and remove Kwasi Kwarteng, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
‘The astounding turnaround – aimed to provide stability to the financial markets after weeks of instability – left Truss in government but helpless and unable to carry out the tax-cutting program that won her the Conservative Party leadership battle,’ they said.
The New York Times published an editorial piece with the title, “Liz Truss is done,” after receiving criticism in recent months for its mocking coverage of Britain.
The article said that Ms. Truss had “rode a roller coaster of scorn” and led a “disaster” administration.
The Washington Post posed the question, “Is Liz Truss still in command of Britain?” after a “disastrous” day for the PM.
The mini-budget, which caused the pound to crash and interest rates to spike, was blamed by the US newspaper for weeks of uncertainty and the statement “British politics remains in disarray.”
With more than half of Tory members now favoring Boris Johnson as the next leader, it looks that the problem is getting worse.
In a shocking YouGov poll, party activists indicated that four out of five believed the PM was doing a poor job and that 55 percent of them felt she should resign, while just 38 percent supported her remaining.
With 32% of the vote, her predecessor Mr. Johnson was favored as a successor, followed by Rishi Sunak with 23% and Ben Wallace with 10%.
The shocking results were revealed as the PM attended two hours of cabinet meetings and MPs deliberated whether and how to organize a coup in response to Mr. Hunt’s remarkable dismantling of her most important economic policies.
After resolutely refusing to apologize when she fired Mr. Kwarteng on Friday, Ms. Truss finally did so yesterday night in a BBC interview, acknowledging that she had made “mistakes” and gone “too far, too quickly.”
The premier swore to lead the party into the next election while exuding nervousness.
She delivered a similar speech yesterday night to the One Nation group of MPs. However, Conservatives in attendance likened it to a “corpse giving its own eulogy.”
Senior backbencher Simon Hoare cautioned this morning that, with Labour leading by 36 points in the polls, the party could need to concentrate on “avoiding a landslide loss.”
James Heappey, the defence minister, argued that Ms. Truss had apologized more immediately than Boris Johnson did, but he also hinted at future issues by threatening to resign if she decreased military spending.
Ms. Truss will address the right-wing ERG group this evening after trying to placate her centrist MPs, many of whom are upset that tax cuts were abandoned.
Much will depend on the approach that Graham Brady, the influential 1922 head who saw Ms. Truss yesterday, takes.
There are rumors that he intends to postpone taking any action until the Budget on October 31. At that time, the Chancellor is predicted to present a horrifying menu of £40 billion in expenditure reductions.
With homes now facing £5,000 energy bills after the government declared its two-year “guarantee” would really expire in April and the tax burden on the increase to its highest level since 1950, MPs are becoming more anxious about the possibility of voters rendering their judgment.