'Sound Money' Sunak Bids To Become UK's First Hindu PM

London, Aug 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Aug, 2022 ) :Before his spectacular falling-out with Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak was on a rapid rise that could still end with him installed as Britain's first prime minister of colour.

It would be a historic landmark, if the Hindu descendant of immigrants from Britain's old empire in India and East Africa were to take command of the world's fifth largest economy.

But after making the final run-off following a series of votes by Conservative MPs, Sunak must first persuade the party's members as ballot papers go out on Monday -- and he is well behind Liz Truss.

Opinion polls show that she has so far outflanked him with policies geared to the Tory right, which also mistrusts Sunak's role in a cabinet revolt that unseated Johnson after months of scandal.

Fabulously rich from his pre-politics career in finance, the former chancellor of the exchequer has also been mocked as being out of touch when Britons are contending with surging inflation.

On the campaign trail this month, he wore expensive Prada loafers on a visit to a building site, and was accused of "mansplaining" to Truss during a bad-tempered tv debate when he savaged her tax-cutting plans.

Instead, Sunak argues, Britain needs a Thatcherite dose of "sound money" to quell inflation and get growth back on track.

Video footage also emerged of a 21-year-old Sunak describing his mix of friends following his education at Winchester College, one of Britain's most exclusive private schools, and the University of Oxford.

"I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper class, I have friends who are, you know, working class," he said, before adding: "Well, not working class." A details-oriented policy wonk, Sunak, 42, was an early backer of Brexit, and took over as chancellor in February 2020.

It was a baptism of fire for the Tory rising star, as the Covid pandemic erupted.

He was forced to craft an enormous economic support package at breakneck speed, which he now says needs to be paid off.