Rishi Sunak became the new prime minister of the United Kingdom on Tuesday after an audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, at which the monarch asked him to form a government following the resignation of Liz Truss.
R. Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, on Monday won the race for leader of the ruling Conservative Party.
The new prime minister has only a year and a half until the next general election. In that time Sunak must revive the Conservatives and avoid deep economic shocks. There is no reason to expect an early election. The Conservative Party is not a suicide squad.
The task is not simple. A harsh transformation of economic policy lies ahead. Additional funds will have to be found urgently and cuts made “to the quick”. The ordinary voter will not like that at all.
Even long-term promises are under threat. Sunak already cannot promise that defence spending will reach 3% of GDP by 2030. Rishi will have to assemble a new electoral coalition. The tough economic framework will not allow him to attract the voters who voted Conservative for the first time in 2019.
Moreover, many then voted for Boris personally rather than for the Tory brand. A new right-wing populist project that tries to take away part of the vote cannot be ruled out either.
Nevertheless, Sunak still has a chance to win a majority. It is just that the new coalition will look more like David Cameron's coalition in 2015 than Boris's in 2019.
