A MIDSUMMER BATTLE FOR NO 10

The British public seems ready for Rishi Sunak, but the Conservative base prefers his rival, Liz Truss

- ANITA PRATAP

Rishi Sunak, the man who could be Britain’s next prime minister, has many nicknames. He is called “Dishy Rishi” because he was voted Britain’s “sexiest” MP. “Fittest” would have been more appropriate for the 42-year-old, but then the rival he beat for this dubious distinction was the middle-aged Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. He is called “Snake Sunak” by outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson’s supporters for being “disloyal” and resigning as chancellor of the exchequer (finance minister), thus precipitating Johnson’s downfall. He is also “Rishi Rich” after the cartoon character “Richie Rich” because he is so rich. His wife, Akshata, is even richer. She has a 0.91 per cent stake in Infosys, founded by her father, N.R. Narayana Murthy. It is worth £700 million, making her richer than the queen.

The two rivals vying for Conservative Party leadership to succeed Boris Johnson are Sunak and Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Truss, 47, the current foreign secretary who projects herself as Margaret Thatcher 2.0. Assessing the two gladiators, Malcolm Rifkind, who served in the cabinets of Thatcher and John Major, says, “Compared with Johnson, Sunak demonstrated a high degree of competence, integrity, and bold but sensitive leadership. Truss has no powers of oratory, little use of humour and no obvious charisma. However, she is seen as gutsy and determined.” Long ago, one of her three younger brothers said that Truss was so competitive as a child that she would abandon playing family board games rather than risk losing. She has described herself as the “bossy elder sister”.