How the western media is treating Rishi Sunak

The British media has been hostile to Rishi Sunak, when compared to other western media.

- NITIN MEHTA

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been in office for a month now (he took office on 25 October 2022). At the time of his appointment the media used different ways to describe him. The most common description was that a person of colour had become Prime Minister. In the late 1970s this was a common expression to describe black and brown people. It seemed to have disappeared over the last two decades but has made an appearance again. This expression, “a person of colour” presumes that White is not a colour.

Another popular description of the PM was that he was the first Asian to hold the post. The word Asian, like the word European, refers to a whole continent. It would sound absurd if an American said that a European was the President of France. A correct description would be that Rishi was a British PM of Indian origin.

The foreign media, as opposed to British media, was very positive of Rishi becoming the PM of Britain. Writing in the AP news Jill Lawless said: “Sunak has been Britain’s prime minister for a month. In the tumultuous world of U.K. politics in 2022, that’s an achievement. Sunak, who took office a month ago, has steadied the nation after the brief term of predecessor Liz Truss. Sunak has stabilized the economy, reassured allies from Washington to Kyiv, Ukraine and even soothed the European Union after years of sparring between Britain and the bloc. The public quite likes the 42-year-old former investment banker, but his party is another matter.”