Britain’s Politics Are in Turmoil. It’s the System Working.
About the author: Edward Price is Principal at Ergo, a global intelligence, consulting, and forecasting firm. A former British trade official, he also teaches at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs.
And there we have it. The U.K.’s shortest-serving prime minister. The U.K.’s second-shortest-serving chancellor. A Conservative Party in turmoil. A country, apparently, on the ropes. It doesn’t look good. Britain, long a source of stability, now appears to be a source of risk–political, economic and, maybe just maybe, financial too.
Lord have mercy.
So, the headlines. Liz Truss resigned—or sort of resigned. British PMs have adopted the habit of not quiet quitting but quasi-quitting. She will be in place for a few more weeks, just like Boris Johnson was, before the next Tory leader is found. She wasn’t elected by the British. She wasn’t given the chance. But nor will she be de-elected either.
Speaking of Johnson, he has apparently thrown his hat into the ring for the upcoming leadership contest. Far stranger things have happened: British PMs also have a habit—long-standing—of disappearing only to reappear later on. Winston Churchill did it. So did Edward Heath. It’s far from impossible, although it certainly would look odd.
So yes, it all looks a little weird. The Economist is now describing Britain as Britaly. That, of course, is a reference to the sunny European nation’s habit of replacing its PM every week or so. It’s also a not-so-subtle reminder that a country that once absorbed risk is now exporting it, just like its bigger counterpart the United States. Jan. 6 anyone? Remember, that looked worse.
Still, it’s not a good look for a British PM to have backtracked on every pledge. Nor is it a good look for a PM to resign after 45 days (of which 10 were national mourning).