Rishi Sunak. File photoMOSCOW, July 26Former UK Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak, who made it to the finals of the elections for the post of prime minister, said that he had the courage to confront Russia even despite high energy prices amid reduced gas supplies to Europe. «Yes (enough). < …> And standing up to him (President Putin) really takes a tough stance, and that will take all of us through tough times. I want to be honest with you on that. how it will affect energy bills, and in the determination to go through it,» he said during an election televised debate, answering a related question. The broadcast was hosted by Talk TV. Sunak also said that as Finance Minister, he provided the largest funding for the modernization of the armed forces «since the end of the Cold War» and, together with finance ministers from other countries, developed packages of sanctions «that we have never seen before» As soon as Sunak's opponent, Foreign Minister Liz Truss, began to answer the same question, the debate was interrupted, as the host of the program, Kate McCann, passed out on the air. On the recommendation of doctors, the organizers decided not to continue the debate. Last week, the fifth round of voting by members of parliament from the Conservative Party took place in Britain to elect its leader, who will also become the country's prime minister. According to its results, two candidates reached the final of the election race — Foreign Minister Liz Truss and former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak. In total, 11 parliamentarians have previously expressed their desire to run for the role of the leader of the Conservatives and the Prime Minister of Britain, nine of whom were eliminated at earlier stages. In the last round, the winner of the two «finalists» will be chosen by all members of the party, which today are about 200 thousand. Voting will be by mail and will end at 5:00 pm local time on September 2. The results are expected to be announced on September 5, when Parliament resumes work after the summer break.»Stone Age»: the British were outraged by the proposal to heat less in winter Boris Johnson, who replaced Theresa May as prime minister in 2019, announced on July 7 that he was leaving the post of head of the Cabinet and leader of the Conservative Party of Great Britain. This came amid a scandal over the appointment of Christopher Pincher, the former British Deputy Foreign Secretary for European and US Affairs, to a new position, despite reports of harassment on his part. A number of politicians have claimed that Johnson was aware of Pincher's troubled past. Later, the prime minister issued an apology, but as a sign of distrust in less than two days, about 60 government members and party functionaries, including several ministers, left their posts. This is not the first time that Johnson has been under a barrage of criticism and threatened to lose his post. Previously, the scandal erupted around parties at the government residence on Downing Street during a nationwide lockdown in connection with the coronavirus. The situation worsened when it was revealed that two more parties took place in April 2021, on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral, when restrictions were still in place in the United Kingdom and national mourning was declared. Johnson later apologized and said he paid the fine issued by the Metropolitan Police. After that, the Conservative Party announced a vote of no confidence in Johnson. Then he managed to stay in office, enlisting the support of 211 party representatives, with 148 who opposed.
