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LONDON – Hours after delivering a sombre reading at yesterday’s funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss flew to stage her debut at the United Nations General Assembly.
In New York this week, Boris Johnson’s successor is due to meet US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron – two leaders who are antagonistic towards Truss’ hard line on Brexit and Northern Ireland.
Truss was appointed on September 6, in one of Queen Elizabeth II’s final ceremonial acts as head of state. She died two days later, triggering 10 days of national mourning during which UK political life was suspended.
The respite will prove short-lived as Truss thrusts into hard-nosed diplomacy, and as her nascent government tackles a cost-of-living crisis brought on by Russia’s war in Ukraine that is hurting millions at home.
She is due back in London on Thursday, a day before Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng delivers an emergency budget statement after the government vowed a costly scheme to cap rocketing energy bills.
At the UN, Truss will seek to “spur further international action to end energy dependence on Russia, making sure the world is never in this position again”, her spokesman told reporters.
She will also build on Johnson’s outspoken support for Ukraine, because “the whole world suffers when a regime like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s is allowed to bully and blackmail its neighbours”, the spokesman said.
In her keynote speech to the UN tomorrow, Truss is expected to say that the UK will remain “an active defender of our democratic values” against authoritarian foes. – AFP, September 20, 2022