Britain | The man atop the rubble

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s new prime minister, starts on the defensive

After what happened to his predecessors, that is little surprise

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, centre, alongside the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, centre right, holds his first Cabinet meeting in Downing street, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool photo via AP)

Britain has had a run of new prime ministers with bold agendas. From Theresa May to Boris Johnson to Liz Truss, each has announced plans to restitch the fabric of Britain by government edict. Each has been felled in short order by some combination of crisis, scandal and the Conservative backbenches. On October 25th Rishi Sunak became the fifth Tory prime minister during their 12 years in power—and the third of 2022. He promised no such transformation.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Smiles atop the rubble”

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