Rishi Sunak became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after over 100 Conservative MPs backed him for the post, following which, his rival Penny Mordaunt, who was hanging in there, hoping to push for a vote by the members of the Conservative party, failed to get any substantial support from the MPs. The vote, if it had gone to the Conservative rank and file, would most likely have resulted in Sunak’s loss at the hands of Mordaunt—a repeat of what happened when Sunak had a face-off with Liz Truss. In the earlier contest as well, Sunak, who was doing extremely well among his urban backers, faltered when it came to gaining the support of rural white middle-aged Conservative voters, giving rise to speculation that the antipathy towards him had to with his skin colour. In fact, an audio clip that has gone viral on social media, has a Tory voter admitting as much on a radio programme, that the problem with Sunak is his skin colour. But then the lightly coloured Liz Truss, who defeated Sunak in the final round, proved to be a disaster and sent the UK spiralling down a path of chaos, and the rest, as they say, is history. At the same time, Sunak’s elevation shows that the Conservatives—or at least the top layer—have come a long way to realise that it’s not race but competence that matters, and that Rishi Sunak, who saved the UK economy from imploding during Covid, could well be the best man to be at the helm of affairs at a time when the UK is looking at a bleak future. In fact, that a person with roots in an erstwhile British colony can reach the highest seat of government in the UK, is testament to the great shift that has taken place in Britain, which has to be lauded. However, at the same time, a section of the British media cannot stop complaining about the legitimacy of Rishi Sunak’s “non election”—one reporter on live TV even described it as a coronation—forgetting that in a Parliamentary system of democracy, it is the people’s representatives who choose the Prime Minister, not the rank and file. Some of the others are openly complaining that Sunak is too rich to be Prime Minister, again forgetting that he himself comes from a humble background and his wife’s family’s wealth is hard earned. We are talking self-made people here, not colonial exploiters who have built their riches and empire on the back of starving people.
Amid this, what should matter to us Indians is if Sunak will be good for India; whether it will be possible to strike a trade deal with the UK during his Prime Ministership; if his will be a case of more loyal than the king when it comes to India, like the way Suella Braverman has been, eulogising the British empire as a God’s gift to the colonised. He has his task cut out for him, which is to revive Britain, and India is certainly not on his priority list, unless doing business with India helps that revival process, which explains the need for a trade deal. In fact the UK needs the deal more than India does. Most importantly, it is hoped that he will recognise the elephant in the room, the Ukraine war, which is pushing western economies into a recession, including the UK’s. The world cannot afford to have the war escalate or even continue.
As for the debate in India, about when a Muslim will become Indian Prime Minister, lest we forget, Sunak was elevated to the Prime Minister’s chair because of his competence, not because of his skin colour or his religious minority status. Sunak’s ascension is not a case of affirmative action. India being a free and fair democracy will not have any problem if a Muslim becomes Prime Minister one day in a legitimate manner. In the meanwhile, Indians should observe Sunak, but from a distance. While New Delhi can always hope that the UK under Sunak will go an extra mile to maintain good relations with India, it should never forget that Sunak is British, not Indian. So the expectations need to be tempered.
Joyeeta Basu