Britain: Rishi Sunak is the country's new prime minister

Britain faces economic challenges and needs stability and unity, Rishi Sunak said today in his first public statement since being named the new leader of the ruling Conservative Party and ahead of taking over as prime minister.

«There is no doubt that we are facing a serious economic challenge,» Sunak said. «We now need stability and unity. My top priority will be to unite our party and our country,» he stressed.

Committing to perform his duties with dignity and humility, he stated that he considers it a privilege to serve the party he loves and to give back to the country to which he owes so much.

Rishi Sunak's prime ministerial revenge

For many, he was overly technocratic, for others, timid, and for some, excessively rigid. Last summer, he was defeated by Liz Truss in the race for Downing Street, but now he has taken his revenge: he crushed the competition and is preparing to become Britain's first non-white prime minister.

Even Boris Johnson's attempt at a «total reset,» a political «steamroller,» couldn't stop him. This time, the 42-year-old former finance minister and former Goldman Sachs executive won over most of the ruling Conservative Party's MPs with a lightning-fast campaign without even saying a word in public. He limited himself to announcing his candidacy with a simple post on Twitter.

Amidst the socio-economic crisis, exacerbated by the storm caused by Liz Truss's short-lived economic policy, Sunak landed at Downing Street with his credibility sky high. In the summer, he had warned the Conservatives that Truss's economic program was tantamount to a «fairy tale» and that massive tax cuts would send borrowing costs skyrocketing. The son of Indian immigrants, who followed a path typical of the British elite, even seemed «too centrist» for party members.

This time, party members have no say in the election of the leader. History has proven him right, and his fiscal prudence is now reassuring.

A sign of his growing strength, after almost two months of silence, he managed to win over most of Johnson's supporters. A feat for someone who had been branded a «traitor»: he was the first to leave the government in early July, followed by some 60 of his colleagues, leading «BoJo» to resign after a series of scandals.

Rishi Sunak's success is the culmination of a meteoric rise within the Conservative Party. He was elected MP for Yorkshire in northern England in 2015 and five years later, at the age of 39, he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Then came Covid-19.

Sunak, who has always been in favor of Brexit, became popular with citizens by distributing billions of pounds in benefits and economic support measures during the pandemic.

On the other hand, the wealth he accumulated through his career in finance and his marriage to the wealthy businesswoman Axata Murthy, the daughter of an Indian billionaire, sometimes appears to be a «burden» at a time when the British are forced to tighten their belts. As does a video from his youth, which resurfaces from time to time, in which he laughingly admits that he has no friends from the working class.

In recent years, his expensive—and always immaculate—suits, gadgets, and lifestyle in a luxurious mansion in his constituency have often attracted negative comments. As has the fact that his wife was considered by the British tax authorities to be a “non-permanent resident” of Britain and did not pay taxes. She was quick to announce at the time that her income from her overseas businesses would henceforth be taxed in Britain. “I am doing this because I want to, not because I am required to by law,” she emphasized.

In response to these criticisms, Sunak recounts his family history, a «success story» thanks to hard work, which resonates with Conservatives. He was born on May 12, 1980, in Southampton and is the eldest of three children of a physician in the National Health Service and a pharmacist. His grandparents, who were born in India or of Indian descent, immigrated to the United Kingdom from East Africa in the 1960s.

«My family immigrated here 60 years ago. (My mother) owned the local pharmacy in Southampton. I grew up there, in the shop, handing out medicine. I worked as a waiter in the Indian restaurant at the end of the street. I am here thanks to the hard work, sacrifices, and love of my parents,» he said in his last election campaign.

However, Sunak quickly joined the British elite, studying at Winchester College, a boarding school for boys. He then studied political science, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University and Stanford University in the US. There he met Akshaya Murthy, his future wife, who was doing her PhD. Her wealthy father gave his consent to the marriage, admitting that Rishi Sunak fully matched his daughter's description: «smart, handsome and, above all, honest.» The couple had two daughters, Anouska and Krishna. They own at least four properties, including a £7 million house in Kensington, London, and an apartment in Santa Monica, California.

Before entering politics, Sunak worked at Goldman Sachs and founded his own investment company.

He is a Hindu and used the Sanskrit sacred text of the Bhagavad Gita during his swearing-in ceremony in parliament. Hindus are currently celebrating Diwali, the great Hindu festival of lights that marks the beginning of autumn.

Achieving economic stability is the priority for the next government, says Rishi Sunak – Early elections are out of the question

The main priority of his government will be to achieve economic stability and then to implement the commitments made by the party before the 2019 elections, Rishi Sunak told the Conservative parliamentary group, according to MP Ian Duncan Smith.

Sunak also promised that his government would represent «all wings» of the party, according to The Sun newspaper. He said he would focus «on politics rather than personalities,» stressing that the party has an opportunity to achieve its goals.

Sunak called for unity and ruled out the possibility of calling a general election.

Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss congratulated Sunak on his election as Conservative leader and expressed her «full support» for him in a post on Twitter.