The obvious differences in style between Boris Johnson and his successor were highlighted by newspapers and websites across the political spectrum, but takeaways from Truss’ first speech in office were generally generous. Spain’s best-selling newspaper, El País, has suggested that during these dark times there might be an argument for shedding the frivolity of Johnson’s short but colorful years. “A lack of charisma can be a political asset in times of uncertainty if offset by a message of courage and determination,” the paper said, noting that Truss had promised to do so on the steps of No 10. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera highlights the ominous scale of the challenges ahead. “From Boris Johnson’s verse to Liz Truss’s prose: Great Britain’s new prime minister introduced herself to the nation with a speech devoid of push-pull, catchphrases or cultivated quotes, but all focused on the concrete issues that need to be addressed,” says newspaper. “Never in recent history has a new head of government faced such a difficult economic and social situation: inflation is at 13% and may exceed 20%, the economy is about to enter recession and millions of people will have to choose this winter if they will eat or heat the house”. What is Liz Truss’s vision for Britain? – video explanation A similar feeling of cautious welcome tempered with concern for the future was expressed by Belgium’s Le Soir as it took stock of the wet Tuesday afternoon on which Truss made her first speech. The newspaper writes: “If the weather was almost like the situation in the country, disastrous, the new head of government appeared confidently and smiling in front of the famous black door.” He called her words, in which Truss had emphasized “delivery” and promised a response to the catastrophic rise in energy bills, “reserved but persuasive.” French newspaper Le Monde reported that Truss had “promised sunnier days ahead, despite the current economic gloom”. However, the paper went on to note that “recent opinion polls show that a significant part of the British public lacks confidence in its ability to deal with the cost of living crisis”. The headline in an article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of Germany’s largest newspapers, was “New Prime Minister, Old Problems.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. But while the left-wing Die Tageszeitung is confident that Truss’s style will be fully exploited by British satirists, happy that “the laughs will continue”, it suggests in a second piece that people may be wrong to underestimate the new prime minister. Der Spiegel, Germany’s biggest news website, enjoyed the confusion caused by the existence of a Twitter account with the handle @liztruss belonging to a woman named Liz Trussell. Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson posted a congratulatory tweet to @lizTruss in response: “Looking forward to a visit soon! Prepare the meatballs.” The new Prime Minister’s personal Twitter handle is @trussliz. Anderson’s tweet has since been deleted.
