Opinion: Liz Truss became a zombie prime minister in record time

What good is Liz Truss now? This is not meant to be an insult, but a serious question. The prime minister won the party leadership with a radical economic agenda that she has now had to abandon. In addition to those negative votes against his opponent, it was this low-tax, smaller state platform that secured victory. If that’s over – and it’s over – what’s the point of a Truss government?

There is still deregulation. She still hopes to see planning reform. She has reaffirmed her desire to reduce the size of the state, but will struggle to convince lawmakers to accept unpopular spending cuts. Truss has some foreign policy positions; she is a committed hawk against China. Its growth agenda leaves it open to immigration liberalization.

Whatever the merits of these other ideas, however, Truss has lost all authority, especially in his own parliamentary party. By abandoning her plans to curb the corporation tax, she has now been forced to adopt the economic strategy of her rival Rishi Sunak – which she absolutely denounced just a few weeks ago. She didn’t mention other possible reversals, about lowering the main income tax rate, for example, and it remains to be seen whether it has done enough to convince the markets. She didn’t give up her main views. Nor, revealingly, did she apologize.

It is difficult to see this restart succeed, because her deputies no longer trust her assessment. In a mutinous and divided party, this is perhaps the only unifying fact. This means that she will have a hard time doing anything difficult or unpopular. In record time, she became a zombie prime minister.

The scale of her defeat is even greater when one considers the position of the economic institutions that Truss and her allies scorned. The bodies of economic orthodoxy, the Bank of England, the OBR (Office of Budget Accountability) and the Treasury, which she intended to bend to her will, were now strengthened. Having fired the permanent secretary to bring in someone less conventionally focused on fiscal orthodoxy, Truss was forced to replace him with one close to the Treasury. The OBR, excluded from the “mini” budget, is now consecrated as the arbiter of discipline. It is very difficult to imagine any government despising him again.

Not to mention the economic fear, most obviously the impact on mortgages. It’s hard to think of a recent budget that proved to be a larger act of political and economic self-harm. And even with that setback, there is still work to be done to fill the £60 billion hole identified by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The reversal of direction itself has become increasingly inevitable, but it should be welcomed. There was only suffering for the government and, more importantly, for the country in continuing to resist. One can at least thank Truss for not fighting anymore.

She had no choice but to fire her friend and chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, although it is hard to think of a more disastrous start to a term as prime minister. A turnaround of this scale would not be taken seriously with him remaining chancellor. When you are humiliated by the markets, a very clear penance is demanded. But everyone knows that he was just the co-author of this farce.

And now? The new chancellor’s first job, Jeremy Hunt, is to restore faith in the UK economy and rid Britain of this place where bond markets treat it as an exception among major western economies. Truss has to fully support this. Which means he’s effectively more powerful than she is.

This is also in the interests of conservatives. The party was destroyed. His current positions in opinion polls suggest that electoral elimination awaits him. Fortunately, the country’s interests and their own now align in demanding a sensible and fiscally prudent government. The thought that Hunt (a recognized adult and Sunak supporter) is in charge can calm nerves, even though he has never served in an economic ministry. And there is also the possibility of instability if the numbers 10 and 11 fight in the future. [Downing Street 10 e 11 são os endereços dos gabinetes e residências oficiais do primeiro-ministro e do chanceler do Tesouro da Grã-Bretanha.]

It is probably too late to redeem the party’s reputation for economic competence – it certainly should be – but two years is a long time. At this stage, turning a general election defeat into a mere failure would be a political achievement.

As for Truss herself, it seems unimaginable that she could recover. The country and its lawmakers could see it, and it seems unlikely they will change their minds. She is a bad communicator, her strategy is in ashes and she has shown terrible assessment. Even if it were replaced, the electorate has the right to form an opinion about the party that chose it.

Sacrificing Kwarteng might buy her some time (though not necessarily), but it is very difficult for her lawmakers to let her lead them in the next election. Her performance at the press conference was very poor and she left many questions unanswered. The plot continues, though the complexities of both firing her and ensuring that the right person takes charge could slow the process down.

But unless she can quickly find an answer to what she brings to the table, Truss won’t last. The timing may not be clear, but the end seems inevitable.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves