“It’s my dream, it’s my obsession,” the minister said, smiling at the cameras a few weeks ago. For anyone who expected new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to adopt a more moderate policy than his populist predecessors, Braverman’s personality is a major disappointment.
With a cabinet of supporters and representatives from other parts of the party, almost all appointed a day after Sunak took office, the 42-year-old wants to gain the widest possible support in the deeply divided Conservative Party. At the cabinet table are allies of his predecessor Liz Truss and his predecessor Boris Johnson. While Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Treasury Secretary Grant Shapps are expected to ensure stability in financial markets, Kemi Badenoch, known for her love of culture wars, is seen as Minister for Women and Equality, and Braverman as a concession to the right-wing. hardliners in the party.
Braverman resigned from Truss’s cabinet the day before she resigned after forwarding an official document with her private email address, in violation of ministerial rules. After taking office on Tuesday, Sunak pledged to lead the government with integrity and professionalism. “Trust must be earned and I will earn your trust,” he said to the nation in his first words.
The deputy leader of the opposition Labor Party, Angela Rayner, criticized: “The new prime minister puts his party leadership over the government in the national interest, even as he hires a home secretary who was only forced to resign last week for violating security rules. ” At Labour’s request, Braverman would speak in the House of Representatives on Wednesday about her temporary resignation and the party also calls – just like the Liberal Democrats – for an independent investigation into the appointment.
While Sunak sees the inclusion of all camps in the cabinet as a smart move to keep insurgent supporters at bay, there are doubts about the ability of some candidates. The “Daily Star” tabloid headlined Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab: “Man without a brain returns”. Raab was once the subject of much controversy as foreign minister for his role in the Afghan withdrawal and later, as justice minister, introduced controversial legislation. Also, the appointment of Gavin Williamson, who was considered a total failure as Secretary of Education under Johnson, raises eyebrows.
Well-known British human rights lawyer Jessica Simor tweeted that a brief “moment of hope” was already in ruins. “You destroy everything good in this country and make everything bad worse,” the lawyer wrote, referring to the Tories who have ruled Britain for the past 12 years. In the “Sun”, an observer also criticized that the prime minister had only given about a quarter of the posts to women.
Brussels hopes Sunak will establish itself in Downing Street as a more reliable partner than its predecessors Truss and Johnson. “In these difficult times for our continent, we are counting on a strong relationship with the United Kingdom,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
With the composition of his government, however, Sunak makes it clear that while he will end the economic chaos, he will nevertheless stick to the right-wing conservative course that the Tories have recently embarked on. Many see a violation of international law in the Rwanda Pact for the expulsion of asylum seekers from different countries, which he also supports and which is currently under review by the courts. It is also not self-evident that the convinced Brexiteer will take a less confrontational course in the dispute with Brussels about the Brexit rules for Northern Ireland.
(SDA)