Britain Gets Another Prime Minister, But For How Long?
Rishi Sunak, as you’ve probably heard, is the new prime minister of the United Kingdom. With support from about 200 members of the Conservative Party, Sunak is expected to lead Britain at least until his next haircut.
If it’s a bad one, who knows what might happen?
Sunak is so confident that he is even moving his entire collection of hair grooming products into 10 Downing Street. They’ll occupy a special room on the third floor of the Prime Minister’s official residence, beside the room for his skin lotions.
Sunak is taking over from Liz Truss, who was Britain’s prime minister during an entire episode of “Coronation Street.” President Joe Biden was still composing his congratulatory letter to her when she resigned.
Sunak has the distinction of being Britain’s first non-white prime minister, youngest prime minister in 200 years, and richest prime minister ever. How rich is he? He’s so rich that his pet dog, Nova, has her own iPhone and regularly orders chicken tikka masala through DoorDash.
His grandparents emigrated from India, his parents were born in East Africa and Sunak himself was born in Southampton, England. Many Indians are happy to see a man of Indian descent become prime minister of India’s colonial ruler, as a BBC correspondent found out.
BBC correspondent: “I’m here on the streets of New Delhi where people are very excited. In fact, there were massive fireworks as soon as Sunak was announced as Prime Minister. People were dancing and having a parade.”
Delhi man (interrupting): “Those fireworks were not for Sunak! They were for Diwali!”
Correspondent: “I’ve been corrected. The fireworks were for Diwali. The dancing was for Sunak!”
Delhi man: “No, that was for Diwali, too!”
Correspondent: “What about the parade?”
Delhi man: “For Diwali, too!”
Correspondent: “Did you do anything for Sunak?”
Delhi man: “Yes, I ate an extra jamun for him.”
Correspondent: “There you have it! Indians are celebrating Rishi Sunak in the sweetest way possible.”
Many Indians are, of course, happy to see a person of Indian descent occupy 10 Downing Street, just as they were happy to see Kamala Harris become vice-president of America. But in celebrating Sunak’s ascent, some can’t help asking an important question: when will India elect a non-brown person as prime minister? India was not ready for Sonia Gandhi in 2004, but will it be ready for Nick Jonas in 2044? (By then, Priyanka Chopra’s husband may establish Indian citizenship and give up music for politics.)
If India is looking for a short-term experimental white prime minister, Liz Truss has experience. But Truss left the British economy in worse shape than Leeds United. Her economic policies were so disastrous that members of the Conservative Party decided it was best to turn the leadership over to a Stanford-educated man.
Yes, Sunak earned an MBA at Stanford University in California on a prestigious Fulbright scholarship. (In contrast, I went to college on a Halfbright scholarship.)
It was at Stanford that Sunak met his future wife, Akshata Murty, daughter of Indian billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy – and it’s at Stanford that thousands of other young men have gone to seek their fortune as well.
A former investment banker and hedge fund partner, Sunak served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. With such credentials, many Britons are willing to give a brown man a chance to resuscitate the economy, even if he has to put his lips to it.
But his critics aren’t sure that a man of his wealth can fully understand the plight of ordinary people. They’ve seen him wearing custom-made suits worth £3,500 and Prada suede loafers worth £490. They’ve heard him tell Conservative Party members in a leaked video that he’s working to undo a funding formula that put money into “deprived urban areas.”
Sunak is well-dressed and well-groomed, but is he well-suited to be prime minister? We’ll find out in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for the next episode of “Who Wants to be Prime Minister?”