Rishi Sunak Faces Heat As Boris Johnson Saga, Rate Hikes Continue
NDTV
The Conservative premier styles himself on Warren Buffett and tries to stays calm by tuning out from day-to-day market movements while looking for long-term upsides.
Rishi Sunak is one of life's optimists. But the Boris Johnson psychodrama and rising interest rates brought a palpable gloom to his Downing Street operation this week, according to people close to the UK prime minister.
The Conservative premier styles himself on Warren Buffett and tries to stays calm by tuning out from day-to-day market movements while looking for long-term upsides. That wasn't possible this past week, according to members of the government who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity.
That's because of a damning report that found former Tory premier Johnson deliberately and repeatedly misled Parliament over the "Partygate" scandal, against a backdrop of turmoil in the UK mortgage market as providers scrap existing deals in anticipation of interest rates going up - spelling more pain for homeowners.
Some senior Conservatives fear the events of recent days have further closed their already narrow path to victory at the next general election, due by the end of January 2025. Politically and economically, Sunak's fortunes are heading in the wrong direction and it is getting harder to see how he can escape worst-case scenarios on each, a government minister said.
