MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Sunak sworn in as British PM by King Charles III

Sunak is aware that hard times await him

British Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak has been sworn in as the new Prime Minister by King Charles III following Liz Truss' departure after merely 49 days in office.

Sunak, a millionaire of Indian heritage who had lost to Truss in the previous Conservative Party elections, was the sole runner this time around to garner over 100 votes of support.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had also enough support to enter the race but claimed it was not “the right thing to do” in the country's current circumstances.

The 42-year-old Sunak accepted the King's invitation to form a new government and went on to speak directly about the crisis facing the country.

The new cabinet members were to be announced later Tuesday by the first-ever non-white head of government and the youngest person to hold the post in more than two centuries.

Speaking on the steps of 10 Downing Street, Sunak vowed to fix Truss' errors and warned of “difficult” times ahead.

“Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis, the aftermath of Covid still lingers, Putin's war in Ukraine has destabilized energy markets and supply chains the world over,” he said.

In her departing speech Tuesday, Truss said she knew Britain was set for brighter days.

“She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country,” Sunak said. “It is a noble aim and I admired her restlessness to create change but some mistakes were made, not born of ill will or bad intentions, but mistakes nonetheless,” Sunak said about his predecessor. “I have been elected ... to fix them,” he added. “And work begins immediately,” with issues such as spending on health, education, defense, welfare, and pensions awaiting him.

A former hedge fund boss, he served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer under Johnson, whose fall he helped ignite by turning in his resignation.