Rishi Sunak is now officially the first Indian-Origin Prime Minister of the UK. Sunak was today appointed by King Charles III as the PM of the country, the palace said.
Yesterday it was confirmed that Sunak will be anointed to the top post as his closest contender Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the race at the final moment. Sunak who lost the throne to Liz Truss in September, came back in October after Truss failed to survive more than 45 days as the PM.
In his first address to the Nation as the PM, Sunak said, “I was appointed to fix mistakes...I will unite our country not with words but action. I will work day in and day out to deliver. Trust is earned, and I will earn...It is a mandate that belongs to and unite all of us. At the heart of the mandate is our manifesto”.
Absolving Liz Truss of responsibility for her failure to bring the economy on the track, the newly appointed Prime Minister said, “Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis...Putin war in Ukraine has destabilised markets the world over... [Former Prime Minister] Liz Truss was not wrong to work for economic goals of this country. I admire her. But some mistakes were made. Not ill intentioned, in fact the opposite, nonetheless mistakes.”
Earlier after being elected unopposed as the leader of the Conservative Party, Sunak appreciated Truss and said that she took over the reins of the country at a very crucial time.
In 200 years of Britain’s history Sunak is the youngest Prime Minister.
The Indian origin PM earlier called for stability and unity. It is expected that India will benefit from his economic prudence leading to a quick signing off the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).