Move to 10 Downing Street Rushi Sunak a new prime minister. But the fairy tale “from rags to riches” does not apply to him.
Born in the UK, the eldest of three siblings, presents himself Rushi Sunak as a climber from an immigrant family. However, his career is the opposite of a “rags to riches” fairy tale. Indian grandparents came to Southampton in the 1960s, Sunak’s father was a doctor, his mother a pharmacist and Sunak himself studied at elite schools such as the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
According to the “Guardian”, Sunak should be worth 850 million euros – and even richer than that King Charles III, who “only” has private assets equivalent to 690 million euros. His wife Akshata, daughter of an IT billionaire, brought most of the money into the relationship.
Quickly one of the most popular in the country
Sunak was first an analyst at the investment bank Goldman Sachs before he entered politics and made a spectacular rise: within five years he made it to the second highest government post in the United Kingdom – and became one of the most popular politicians in the country.
What did people like about the conservative? His commitment made an impact. In the 2020 corona pandemic, his crisis program for continued wage payments of up to 80 percent saved many Britons from unemployment. Since then he has been considered competent and someone who was believed to really want to help, even Sunak’s critics had to admit that.
But Sunak increasingly gave them a target for attack. A BBC documentary made the rounds in which Sunak said he had “no working-class friends.” And that he “also encourages children from state schools to apply to Oxford”. Many Britons saw these statements as the sheer snobbery of a conceited careerist.
Rich wife tax scandal
In the spring of this year, a scandal finally ensued that almost broke Sunak’s political neck. So it became public that his wife Akshata Murthy had avoided millions of dollars in taxes for years because she was not officially registered in Great Britain.
A treat for the opposition, which accused Sunak of hypocrisy – although the practice was not illegal. The fact that Sunak was also at Boris Johnson’s parties during the national lockdown didn’t make things any better. Sunak’s poll numbers fell – also because Sunak continued to impose more taxes on the population. According to the Guardian, the tax burden was higher than it had been since the 1940s.
“He lacks loyalty”
Many conservative voters also did not forgive Sunak for his resignation as finance minister shortly before he became scandal prime minister Boris Johnson threw in the towel because of “Partygate” and other misconduct.
“Sunak lacks loyalty,” says Michael Bower* from Sunderland in the north-east of England to the “20 minutes” news portal. “First he always expressed his support for Boris in a very public way, then he resigned because he said he no longer trusted Boris. It was purely a political calculation.”
The 65-year-old adds: “In our pub parliament, the feeling is clear: Sunak as prime minister – it’s like inviting Brutus to lead the Roman Senate.”
Skin color is a problem for some
The elephant in the room must also be named: Sunak’s Indian roots and skin color pose a problem for part of the population of the former colonial power. This was made clear by a radio broadcast on Sunday morning. A caller referring to https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1583836182781517830?s=20&t=G03bjQr36CIft9AvEdgCQwas Jerry and Boris Johnson fan revealed, said: “Rishi Sunak doesn’t love England and isn’t even British in the eyes of most people”.
85 percent of the English are “white English” and they want “a prime minister who reflects that. I can’t just go to India and be prime minister, can I?” That Sunak – unlike Johnson, who was born in the US – was born and raised in the UK did not impress the man.
However, it was neither the Jerrys nor the rest of the British population who elected the prime minister, but MPs from the Conservative party.
