‘We made mistakes’: Truss apologizes to British – but wants to remain in office This means Putin-imposed state of war

“I want to take responsibility and apologize for the mistakes that have been made,” Truss said in a BBC interview Monday night. Huge tax cuts announced by her government, the financing of which remained unclear, had plunged the British pound and sent interest rates skyrocketing. The 47-year-old admitted the government had gone “too far and too fast”.

Truss was forced to fire her ally and finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng and replace her with veteran pragmatist Jeremy Hunt. On Monday, he announced a 180-degree turn in economic policy — almost nothing left of Truss’ core promise.

In the interview, she emphasized that economic stability has been restored. Looking to her political future, the head of government was optimistic: “I will lead the Conservative Party in the next election,” Truss said.

Asked by the BBC reporter if she was not afraid that the Conservatives could lose a lot of votes in the next election and that she would be blamed for it, Truss replied: “My message to my colleagues is: yes, I admit that there were mistakes. I acted quickly to correct these mistakes. I have been honest about what the mistakes were. What we need to do now is move forward and do something for the country.” After all, that is important for the population.

That is why resigning from the leadership of the party and therefore also from her position as prime minister is not an option for Truss at the moment. “I remain in office to protect the national interest,” she said in the interview.

However, it is unclear whether the 47-year-old wants to sustainably reduce the pressure currently placed on her with her statements. According to BBC Political Editor Nicholas Watt, the Conservative Party remains deeply divided over the future with Liz Truss as prime minister and party leader. Watt cites a conversation with a high-ranking MP in the party.

The Tories are currently not divided in two, but even in three. There is one group that remains loyal to Truss, another that wants to be removed but doesn’t know when and by whom to replace him – and then there are those who want to get rid of Truss immediately.

According to Watt, about half of the MPs should be in the latter group, making Truss’s future seems anything but certain. The Tory source told the BBC reporter: “It looks like the dam could burst this week.” (con/sda/dpa)