Prime minister Archives - Leading Reporters

Liz Truss, Britain’s 47-year-old foreign secretary has been appointed as next prime minister of UK and leader of the conservative party.

Truss is taking over from her former boss Boris Johnson who was ousted from downing street by lawmakers in his party.

Liz Truss gathered 81,326 votes against her rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak who got 60,399 votes.

She will become the third female prime minister of the United Kingdoms after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

In addition to the war in Ukraine and the fallout of Brexit, the new prime minister will inherit a vast range of economic and political problems. The Bank of England predicts Britain will suffer through protracted recession, beginning as early as October. Inflation already stands at 10 percent, with economists warning that 15 percent is possible.

In her acceptance speech, she reaffirmed that she will lead as a conservative true to her campaign.

“We need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. I will deliver on a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy; I will deliver on the energy crisis dealing with people’s energy bills but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply. I will deliver on the National Health Service. But we all will deliver for our country,” Ms Truss said.

She will be confirmed as Prime minister by Queen Elizabeth later today in the Balmoral Castle, Scotland.

Boris Johnson will tender his resignation to the Queen who will, after accepting, announce Ms Truss as the new prime minister.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella after key coalition parties withdrew their support for his government.

In a statement on Thursday, the president’s office said Mattarella had “taken note” of the resignation and asked Draghi’s government to remain on in a caretaker capacity.

The resignation opens the way for early elections in September or October. The statement by the president’s office did not specify whether Mattarella would dissolve parliament or call snap polls.

Senate President Maria Elisabetta Casellati and Chamber of Deputies President Roberto Fico were expected at the Quirinal Palace in Rome on Thursday afternoon.

“They are probably going to hash out some timeline for early elections,” Al Jazeera’s Adam Raney, reporting from Rome, said.

Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, became prime minister in 2021 as Italy wrestled with the coronavirus pandemic and an ailing economy, had reprimanded his squabbling national unity coalition and urged them back into line before it was too late.

He won a confidence vote in the Senate on Wednesday, but boycotts by three of his coalition allies in the voting virtually doomed any prospects for his unity government’s survival.

Draghi had already tendered his resignation last week after one of his partners, the populist Five Star Movement, failed to back him in a confidence vote on measures tackling the high cost of living.

Mattarella at the time had rejected the resignation and told him to go before parliament to see if he could keep the broad coalition going until the planned end of the legislature in early 2023.

In a speech to the Senate after surviving the confidence vote, Draghi had made a plea for unity and laid out a series of issues facing Italy and conditions to stay in office.

Source: Aljazeera

Prime minister

Liz Truss Emerges UK’s New Prime Minister

Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi Resigns