Will he be able to get the country out of the political and financial crisis in which it has been plunged for several months? Rishi Sunak was nominated by the British Conservatives to be the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Monday October 24, following the departure of Liz Truss from Downing Street on Thursday.

With the Conservatives in the majority in the House of Commons, King Charles III will instruct Mr Sunak on Tuesday to form a new government. A first for the new sovereign, who acceded to the throne on September 8 with the death of his mother Elizabeth II.

An unfortunate candidate this summer against the former British prime minister, who resigned after only 44 days in power, the 42-year-old former British Chancellor of the Exchequer benefited from the resignation of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. His other opponent, Penny Mordaunt, also threw in the towelMonday afternoon.

With the support of more than half of Conservative MPs, Sunak announced his candidacy on Sunday night. On the occasion of his first speech after his victory, the forty promised on Monday to bring “stability and unity” versus “deep economic difficulties” that the UK is experiencing. “Uniting the party and the country will be my top priority”He said in a short speech: “It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve the party I love and give back to the country to which I owe so much. »

“Congratulations to Rishi Sunak (…). Working together is the only way to face common challenges… And providing stability is the key to overcoming them”, reacted on Twitter the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

First non-white man to head government

The grandson of immigrants of Indian origin with a classic past in the British elite, Rishi Sunak, a very wealthy former banker, will become the first non-white to lead the government.

The former chancellor, guardian of budgetary orthodoxy and a workaholic, seduces a large part of his camp while the country is going through a severe economic and social crisis, with inflation above 10% and multiplying strikes. The situation has continued to deteriorate in recent months, as the government has been paralyzed by the successive upheavals that agitate the majority and has been exacerbated by mistakes by Liz Truss that have destabilized markets and caused the pound to fall. sterling.

Mr Sunak had regularly denounced Liz Truss’s financial plan this summer and appears to be a reassuring figure for UK markets. On Monday, sterling rose on the prospect of the former finance minister’s appointment as head of government.

Rishi Sunak will be the fifth occupant of 10 Downing Street since the 2016 Brexit referendum, which opened a page of unprecedented economic and political turmoil in the UK.