After the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, he was a candidate for the post. Beaten by Liz Truss who did not last more than 49 days, candidate Rishi Sunak can savor his revenge. After being appointed Prime Minister on October 25, 2022. Even if the mission that awaits him is not easy. Here are five (05) reasons why his nomination is good news for the United Kingdom and for the rest of the world.
On October 25, King Charles III officially endorsed the appointment of Rishi Sunak elected to the Commons House of Parliament as Prime Minister to succeed Liz Truss who had succeeded former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but who had to throw in the towel after just 49 days as head of the British government. Following several resignations within his government but also and above all his unpreparedness to face the serious crisis which is shaking the United Kingdom and to assume the highest responsibilities in times of serious economic crisis.
1 – Put the right man in the right place
All political observers agree that Rishi Sunak's entry into 10 Downing Street is unprecedented. After the dithering that led to a government fiasco with the Liz Truss government, the British have changed their minds. And the very universal principle according to which “The right man in the right place” is the best solution, whatever his sector of activity, ended up prevailing. You have to know how to listen to reason at all times and the representatives of the British in the Commons House of Parliament have heard it. By designating this son of Indian immigrants to the highest office of the state. Whether dictated by the imperatives of the moment or by realpolitik, it goes without saying that this is a good signal for the country. At this precise moment in the history of the United Kingdom, with regard to his political career within the Conservative and Unionist Party (Conservative and Unionist Party), of the liberal Right. Which is an old-timer of the British chessboard. Because the new Prime Minister, as the
English say, comes from a political party whose formation dates back to 1834 and which is the heir of the Tories of the 18th and 19th centuries. Both his social career as a Finance specialist and his political career made Rishi Sunak the best match for the Kingdom of His Majesty Charles III. The members of the party are, moreover, commonly called the Tories (in the singular: Tory) even today.
2 – Above all, reassure the financial markets
Rishi Sunak is known for his rigor and budgetary conservatism. This is one of the main reasons why his appointment could only be reassuring. Contrary to the uncertainties that could pose to the United Kingdom and the international financial markets many other contenders for the post.
In his first speeches, shortly after meeting King Charles III, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared in particular: “Our country is facing a deep economic crisis. I want to salute my predecessor Liz Truss: she was right to want to improve our growth, and I admired her determination to make things change. But she made mistakes. And I was elected, as leader of my party and as Prime minister, to fix them. I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of government action. I will bring our country together. This government will demonstrate integrity, professionalism and accountability at all levels. Trust is earned and I will earn yours”
3 – Relaunch the economy and reassure UK Partners
While inflation rose above 10% and strike movements grew in the country, another alternative was needed to deal with the most urgent matters. And he has the profile to do the job.
Rishi Sunak was elected MP for Richmond Constituency in Yorkshire in the 2015 general election and returned to the Commons House of Parliament successively for the 2017 and 2019 general elections. He was in favor of Brexit as part of of the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union of June 23, 2016.
In former Prime Minister Theresa May's second government, he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2018-2019. Then, he was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the first government of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson on July 24, 2019. And, in the second government, he rose to the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer , on February 13, 2020. In replacement of Sajid Javid who resigned.
4 – Celebrating Diversity and Fighting Racism and Stereotypes
Rishi Sunak is of Indian descent but he was born on May 12, 1980 in Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom. His father is a doctor and his mother is a pharmacist. Born in Africa, the first in Kenya and the second in present-day Tanzania, they immigrated to settle in Southampton, in the South of England. From Oxford in the United Kingdom to Stanford in the United States, Rishi Sunak finally landed at the Goldman Sachs bank where he worked for investment funds before devoting himself to politics. Married to Akshata Narayan Murty, the daughter of Narayan Murty, the founder of India's fifth-richest IT company Infosys, and Sudha Murty, an Indian engineer, writer and philanthropist.
At 42, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose grandparents are from Punjab, in Northern India, and his wife Akshata Narayan Murty, herself of Indian origin and born in India, are both strong symbols of social integration and ethnic diversity not only in the United Kingdom but throughout the West, indeed across the world. As represented in the United States of America by former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.
Many Indians welcome and celebrate this appointment of one of their descendants in the former colonial metropolis. There is nothing more normal to this. Whatever some devious minds in the United Kingdom think about his skin color or origins, that is not what defines Rishi Sunak's intrinsic worth. And they may call him "Man of Color", but that won't change his intrinsic value. And it is also good news that it is thus promoted in the eyes of certain Indians who are no less racist, including vis-à-vis Blacks and some of their own Indian compatriots who have more dark. A reality that is described by the journalist and writer specializing in ancient Nubia, Marcus Boni Teiga, in his essay entitled Inde : Pourquoi le Yoga n’est pas né en Inde ; Les secrets de l’origine des Dravidiens (India: Why Yoga was not born in India; Secrets of the Origin of the Dravidians), Editions Complicités, Paris, 2020 which he concluded in these terms: “Let us wager, however, that the procrastination of certain researchers in recognizing the impressive heritage that the ancestors of the Dravidians bequeathed to India and to the whole of Asia does not fall in line with this same ideological approach of which the Blacks were long victims concerning the ancient Egyptian civilization. For reasons solely of nationalism and ideology, India, which has been able to maintain its unity in diversity and continuity for millennia, despite several invasions, certainly does not need to make the Indians believe anything other than the historical truth.. It is up to the Dravidophones themselves, beyond the color of their skin, to devote themselves to research which could one day allow them to affirm, loud and clear, and in a clear and distinct manner, the indelible and indissoluble links which bind them both to the oldest Civilization of India and to Black Africa. To do this, Dravidophone researchers should extend their research to all of Black Africa".
5 – A lucky charm named Rishi Sunak
When we ask the author, what should be understood by the meanings of the names of the British Prime Minister, here is what he says: "Without going into details, we know that the name Rishi which can also spelling itself Richi is a well-known and popular name in Indian culture and traditions. In the sense that it is, like the names of the Hebrew Patriarchs in the Bible, an ancient name attributed to one of the seven mythical Sages of the Rig-Veda. The name Sunak, on the other hand, is derived from Suna in Hindi and comes from a very old linguistic heritage which translates it as “auspicious”, “under good auspices”, etc. In any case, Suna like Sunak contain the root Sri or Suri which means "good", "happy", "bliss", "blessing", etc. But the Sunak declension which is inherent in Suna or Souna expresses “strength”, “completeness”, “fullness”, etc. In a word, it could be translated as “Solar”, especially since the philological meaning of the name refers to the Sun”.
Let us bet therefore that the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the beginning of a new and auspicious era which is dawning on the country after Brexit and all the multiple socio-political and economic problems to which it owes to present to face. In any case, he already had the right words after his appointment: “I will unite our country not with words, but with deeds (…) I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government's agenda ". Suffice to say, it bodes well. Rest that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva do the rest and accompany him in his difficult and delicate mission.
By Daniel Yaoni
