Defending Liz Truss: The Rise of an Underdog

By ANDREW YUAN ’24

Iron fist, soft mind. Liz Truss fulfilled her ambitions to 10 Downing Street on Sep. 6 as she defeated fellow contender Rishi Sunak for Prime Minister in the United Kingdom. As Queen Elizabeth II’s death rocks Britain amid rising inflation and unprecedentedly high energy costs, Liz Truss’s opportunism and political acuteness could alleviate Britain’s present crisis.

As a caretaker Prime Minister, Truss’s goal is to stabilize her Conservative Party and consolidate her country, where her opportunism and shifting political philosophy come in handy.

Raised in a traditional middle class family, Truss started her political career as a Liberal Democrat devoted to centrist causes and policies. As a young politician, she fared well among fellow moderates, presiding over the Oxford University Liberal Democrats and calling for the abolishment of the “disgraceful” monarchy in a(n) (in)famous speech to the 1994 National Liberal Democrats Conference.

Sometime between 1994 and 1996, Truss transformed from a fiery anti-monarchical rising political star to a conservative corporate accountant working for Shell due to unknown causes. Nonetheless, the political landscape of 1996 could provide a possible answer to Truss’s fundamental political shift: the governing Conservative government suffered landslide defeats in two consecutive local elections. Conservative Party’s eventual loss of its continuous 18-year majority in the 1997 general election provided momentum for conservatives to win back the Parliament, a platform for harsh criticisms of the failures of the Labor Party, and an opportunity for Truss to ride the Conservative wave.

Her second notable political shift came during Britain’s 2016 European Union (E.U.) Referendum. Her crusade for the “Remain” abruptly ended when voters decided, by a slim margin, to leave E.U. Though she subsequently apologized for misidentifying, Truss’s firm defense of her sudden switch served her well on her rise to power following fellow Leave advocate Johnson’s landslide victory in 2019.

In the past, the new Prime Minister had masterfully navigated the complexities of global politics as a Cabinet Minister hawkish on fundamentals but compromising on mutual interests. As Secretary of Education, she adopted elements of Chinese STEM education, advocating for increased cooperation with Chinese teachers and corporations. Yet she insisted on sanctioning Chinese officials diplomatically and economically over its human rights persecutions in Uyghur a few years later. Similarly, while calling for a closer alliance with Turkey economically, Truss continued to support Cyprus in its ongoing conflict against Turkish occupation.

Truss’s record speaks for her political wisdom: she’s a survivor and an underdog. She endured an extra-marital scandal in a patriarchal political system, two defeats early on in her career, and a demotion during her steady rise in the Cabinet. Even during the 2022 Conservative leadership election, she started as a distant third, barely qualifying for the Members’ vote. From this perspective, Truss indeed resembles her idol Margaret Thatcher.

The British public loathed former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deceit, mismanagement of government, and elitist bigotry. Truss’s underestimated political opportunism, pragmatic efficiency, and frugal lifestyle represent an antithesis to Johnson’s failures. Her willingness to change her political philosophy demonstrates that her policies would accommodate public opinions.

The evaluation of Truss’s competence drastically differs from the assessment of other Prime Ministers. Unlike other Prime Ministers who campaigned on promises and policies, Truss seems to have little to none. She didn’t have to win on an immaculate tax cut proposal or a miraculous plan to alleviate rising energy costs.

Truss’s ministership will likely be marked with diplomatic negotiations, compromises for economic relief, and clean-up of Johnson’s catastrophe. Yet thanks to her political acumen, she might potentially build a legacy surpassing her predecessors, with ambitious tax-cut proposals and encouragement of business-led growth.

Truss cannot be simply categorized as a conservative or liberal, instead, her political maneuverings represent herself, her sufferance, and her rise to power. In a world recovering from the repercussions of radical populists such as Trump, Johnson, and Putin, Truss could tip global politics back to normalcy.

A formidable politician and effective lawmaker, Truss might just be the leader who listens, ponders, and changes whenever necessary or beneficial.

In the middle of a tsunami, an “Iron Weather Vane” might be the best to hope for.