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Rishi Sunak is due to be installed as Britain’s third prime minister of the year by King Charles III on Tuesday, before appointing a Cabinet that will have to wrestle with the U.K.’s economic and political crises.
Sunak, the U.K.’s first leader of color, was selected as leader of the governing Conservative Party on Monday as it tries to stabilize the economy, and its own plunging popularity, after the brief, disastrous term of Liz Truss.
Truss will depart after making a brief public statement outside 10 Downing St., seven weeks to the day after she was appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II. The queen died two days later. Now her son will take over the ceremonial role of accepting Truss’ resignation at Buckingham Palace before asking Sunak to form a government.
Sunak — at 42 the youngest British leader for more than 200 years — must try to shore up an economy sliding toward recession and reeling after his predecessor’s experiment in libertarian economics, while also attempting to unite a demoralized and divided party that trails far behind the opposition in opinion polls.
