How the world reacted to Liz Truss’s ‘chaotic’ resignation
As the world reacted to the resignation of Liz Truss, Emmanuel Macron, the French President, said he hoped Britain would return to stability as soon as possible.
Arriving at an EU summit, Mr Macron said he would not comment on British domestic politics, but added: “It is important that Great Britain regains political stability very quickly, and that is all I wish.”
“We want, above all else, stability,” he said, adding, “On a personal level, I am always sad to see a colleague go.”
The French newspaper Le Figaro wrote: “Liz Truss once described herself as ‘disruptor-in-chief’. For her critics, she was above all a ‘destructor-in-chief’ in her lightning term in Downing Street.
“She will remain the most ephemeral prime minister in modern history with just 44 days in power during which she worsened the economic difficulties of millions of Britons, weakened her country’s international image and exhausted what semblance of unity remained in a Conservative Party weakened by 12 years in power.”
Le Monde remarked that Ms Truss “never got over this amateurish mini-budget“, adding: “In all, she was only in control a few days, between the end of the national period of mourning after the death on September 8 of the Queen and the debacle that followed her mini-budget.”
In Germany, the tabloid Bild ran the headline “Political earthquake on the island”.
US to work ‘very, very closely’ with Truss successor
US President Joe Biden said in a statement: “The United States and the United Kingdom are strong allies and enduring friends — and that fact will never change. I thank Prime Minister Liz Truss for her partnership on a range of issues including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine. We will continue our close cooperation with the UK government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face.”
Ron Klain, the White House Chief of Staff, said his country has “always had a special relationship with the United Kingdom without regard to the partisan affiliation of our president or the politics of their prime minister”.
He said: “That’s going to continue no matter who the UK picks… We’re going to work very, very closely with whomever succeeds Prime Minister Truss.”
The Washington Post called it “the most chaotic moment in British politics in the post war era history”. It said the resignation was “a humbling transfer of power” and warned “no one is sure what direction Britain will take now – in foreign or economic policy”.
The New York Post said: “Truss’s tumultuous stint was marked by a fiscal fiasco and hostile opposition from her own Conservative Party over her proposal to cut taxes on the wealthy while raising corporate taxes, which sent financial markets into a weeks-long slide.
“Her resolve collapsed after her senior minister stepped down, and a House of Commons vote on a controversial fracking proposal endorsed by Truss but opposed by members of her party descended into disarray as lawmakers called on her to step down.”
Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, said that he had “good contact” with Ms Truss. “I’m annoyed for her personally… We agreed on a whole range of views and I’m looking forward to work with who will be my next colleague. It will be the fifth one, I believe.”
The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf said: “Her popularity and that of the party had plummeted in her short time as prime minister, largely due to her faltering economic policies”.
‘Failed ideological journey’
In Spain, El País newspaper described Ms Truss’s premiership as a “failed ideological journey” towards the neoconservatism of her idol, Margaret Thatcher. “The turmoil surrounding the pound after the tax cuts announced – and then withdrawn – by the outgoing UK prime minister finally delivered the coup de grâce to Truss’s failed ideological journey towards neoconservatism.”
La Vanguardia newspaper remarked on the brevity of her time in office and made a scornful comparison with the briefest reign by a Spanish monarch. “She has become the British equivalent of the Bourbon king Louis I The Brief, eldest son of Philip V and María Luisa of Savoy, who only remained on the Spanish throne for 229 days. Even then, longer than her.”
Italy’s national news agency commented that Ms Truss’s 44 days in office made her the shortest-lived prime minister in British history, behind George Canning, who governed for 119 days before dying in 1827.
La Stampa newspaper, leading its website with the news of the resignation, said her chaotic time in power was emblematic of “a kingdom that is ever more disunited and engulfed in chaos”.
Reacting to the news of the resignation, Robert Golob, Slovenia’s prime minister, commented: “It was somehow predictable for the last two weeks.”
Ms Truss’s departure will disappoint the Israeli government, which was privately delighted by her proposal to move the UK embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But it will come as a major relief to Palestinians and religious leaders in Jerusalem, as well as a number of Arab states, who warned that the transfer would undermine a future two-state solution.
In Belgium, the Francophone Le Soir newspaper said Ms Truss’s time in office “resembled a descent into Hell”.
The Polish news network TVN24 wrote that Ms Truss will “go down in history as the shortest ruling prime minister in British history,” although it adds, by way of consolation, that “she was the only prime minister to shake the hands of two monarchs”. Her entire economic strategy was “thrown in the bin” after it was rejected by the markets, the network continued, adding that she had also lost the trust of her party.
Moscow reaction predictably scathing
In a play on Western reporting tropes of Africa, Kenyan journalist Patrick Gathara wrote satirically on Twitter: “Collapse of Truss regime heightens political uncertainty in troubled Caucasian block where many demand democratic change amid attempted coups, tribal war, deadly disease outbreaks and climate change-related drought, raising fears of huge migrant waves heading to Africa.
“Fresh attempt underway to form government in anarchic UK as population stocks up on essential supplies amid growing fears of violence especially in remote, separatist tribal districts of Scotland and N Ireland which have waged long struggle for freedom and independence,” Mr Gathara continued.
The reaction from Moscow was predictably scathing. “The catastrophic ignorance and the Queen’s funeral immediately after her audience with Liz Truss will be remembered,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. “Britain has never known such a disgrace as Prime Minister.”
Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, tweeted: “Bye, bye @trussliz, congrats to lettuce,” referring to the Daily Star’s joke about whether a lettuce would last longer than Ms Truss’s prime ministership.
