LONDON, April 17, (AP): During her 49 days as Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, Liz Truss sparked mayhem on the financial markets and turmoil within her Conservative Party.
Now she is speaking up, and her message is: It wasn’t me.
In interviews and a new book, Truss robustly defends her economic record, blaming the "deep state,” "technocrats,” "the establishment,” civil servants and the Bank of England for her downfall.
"I’m not saying I’m perfect,” Truss told the BBC. But, she added, "I’m frankly not going to let them get off the hook.”
Traditionally, former British prime ministers keep quiet for an extended period after leaving office. Not Truss. In her grandly titled tome "Ten Years to Save the West” - released on Tuesday - the former prime minister defends her actions, excoriates her many critics and offers her prescription for a better world.
Her ideas include abolishing the United Nations and backing Donald Trump for reelection - a departure from the convention that senior British politicians stay out of US elections.
"I believe that we need a strong America,” Truss told the BBC, adding that "the world was safer” when Trump was president.
"I think that our opponents feared the Trump presidency more than they fear the Democrats being in office,” she said.
Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said Truss’ media onslaught "confirms her transformation into a radical right-wing populist.”
Truss became prime minister in September 2022 when she was elected by the governing Conservative Party to replace Boris Johnson after he was toppled by scandals.