TV duel to succeed Johnson: It doesn’t seem to matter who it is in the end

Two Oxford graduates want to set themselves apart, although both want to continue Johnson’s policies. No wonder the TV duel got heated. That would actually be the hour of the opposition. But she misses the chance.

Ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, who finally set the departure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in motion by resigning, is keen to become prime minister. Secretary of State Liz Truss, who is still loyal to Johnson but would rather not include him in her future cabinet, also wants the top job.

It’s not for nothing that television duels are called exactly that, usually after a duel one is on the ground. The fact that the media and party leaders are now shaking their heads and criticizing the “bitter mud fight” within the party sounds like hypocrisy. Were you expecting a tea party? Somehow the two have to differentiate themselves from each other.

With better manners and less messy hair

Two Oxford graduates who sell their careers as rising stars and each claim the spirit of the iron conservative super-lady Margaret Thatcher for themselves, essentially want to continue Boris Johnson’s policies – just with better manners and less tangled hair. At most, there is ideological argument about the right course in tax policy. It doesn’t seem to matter who it ends up being.

The challenges are enormous: inflation in the country is 40 years high, energy prices and the cost of living are climbing – as elsewhere. Millions of people have been waiting years for operations for the NHS, the state health service, and children go hungry if they don’t get school lunch during the holidays.

Not only the corona pandemic but also Brexit are causing the economy to sputter. There is a shortage of workers in everything from the logistics sector to geriatric care – and the responsibility for this cannot simply be blamed on the French, who are allegedly to blame for the long queues for crossing the English Channel.

Actually, this could be the hour of opposition leader Keir Starmer. But the Labor leader simply cannot capitalize on the 12 years of Conservative government that the two candidates are currently dismantling themselves in the TV duels. A really missed opportunity.