The two candidates in the race to succeed Boris Johnson represent two parties, although the distinction between them is not acknowledged. Rishi Sunak is the candidate of conservatism as it was until 2019, when Theresa May’s government was still trying to reconcile Brexit ideology with the demands of economic and diplomatic reality. Liz Truss appeals to the successor movement, the “Boris” party, which resolved the tension by denying its existence.
That conflict is buried in a contest that purports to be about other things. Tax policy is the measurable difference between the two candidates and so it dominated Monday night’s TV debate. The lines are by now well-rehearsed: Truss wants immediate cuts; Sunak wants to wait. He says fiscal loosening will stoke inflation; she says it will unleash growth. He frets that lost revenues will mean less money for the NHS; she would borrow the shortfall.
But those positions are proxies for different notions of what it now means to be a Conservative. Sunak embraced the label of “bean counter” when Truss used it as a pejorative. He is styling himself as a frugal Tory of the old school. Truss accused him of sounding like Gordon Brown, wedded to outmoded Treasury rules. She would “take on the orthodoxy” – an appeal to the Johnsonian maverick spirit. » | Rafael Behr | Monday, July 25, 2022
First Truss-Sunak Tory leadership debate: five key takeaways: The rivals did not pull their punches, on the economy or China, as they kicked off a month of debates »
Truss and Sunak trade blows in acrimonious first TV debate: Leadership candidates ignored calls from fellow Conservatives not to ‘tarnish the brand’ as they wrangled over tax cuts, inflation and relations with China »
Succession de Boris Johnson : Liz Truss conforte son statut de favorite : La ministre des affaires étrangères a évité les faux pas lors du premier débat, lundi sur la BBC, avec l’ancien chancelier de l’Echiquier, Rishi Sunak. Les échanges entre les deux candidats au 10 Downing Street se sont concentrés sur la question du pouvoir d’achat au Royaume-Uni. »
Truss und Sunak liefern sich harten Schlagabtausch: Die Bewerber um die Nachfolge von Boris Johnson an der britischen Regierungsspitze streiten sich über die Steuerpolitik und China. Der frühere Finanzminister Sunak bezeichnet die Pläne von Außenministerin Truss als „nicht verantwortungsvoll und sicherlich nicht konservativ“. »
