Liz Truss: Queen of Mistakes and Embarrassment

Liz Truss is one of the last candidates to run for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Conservative Party members will now choose between her and former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak in the final round.

While Sunak has received the most support from members of Parliament, polls indicate that Truss is more popular among party members. However, the race is still open.

In Johnson’s footsteps

Like its likely predecessor Boris Johnson, Truss is a fault machine. For example, a few days ago, after his campaign speech, she couldn’t find her way out and wandered around the room aimlessly for several minutes.

The Internet has now discovered a strange moment from 2014: the so-called “cowardly speech” at the party convention at the time.

Exports, exports, exports

The subject of the speech was British exports. She boasted that the UK “grows wheat more competitively than the Canadian prairies” and that Yorkshire tea is sold to China. After each statement, Truss smiled and waited for applause—which, after short pauses, came with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“When it comes to British food and drink, we’ve never felt this good,” she said. But shortly thereafter she grumbled and explained with a rocky expression: “At the moment we import two-thirds of our apples. We import nine-tenths of all our pears. We import two-thirds of the cheese.”

After a longer pause she added, “This is. A. Chan. De.”

Meme machine

Another famous moment from Truss was her statement that dog barking could deter drones from entering prisons and their lack of awareness in 2019 if government austerity measures were to affect them.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Truss announced on a radio program that she would support the British fight in Ukraine, despite the government’s advice not to risk her life.