https://news.yahoo.com/uk-medias-liz-truss-vs-160600271.html
The Independent
History of shortest-serving prime ministers as Liz Truss tops list
Thu, October 20, 2022 at 9:06 AM
Liz Truss has become the shortest-serving prime minister in history,
announcing her resignation after just 44 days in office. Speaking
outside No 10 on Thursday afternoon, she admitted she could no longer
deliver on the mandate she was elected with last month. Ms Truss's
premiership is the shortest by some margin, with George Canning
previously holding the unwanted title.He died 118 days after taking
office in 1827. Of more modern prime ministers, Alec Douglas-Home also
had a short premiership, lasting 364 days in the role from 1963-64.
AND
https://qz.com/the-uk-medias-liz-truss-vs-lettuce-watch-was-as-brilli-1849681694
Quartz
The UK media's Liz Truss vs. lettuce watch was as brilliant as it was
ruthless
Adario Strange
Thu, October 20, 2022 at 9:06 AM
In this article:
Liz Truss
Liz Truss
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2022
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022
It turns out that 2022 will be the year of at least three UK prime
ministers, with Liz Truss resigning on Oct. 20 following calls from her
own party to step down. This would have been no surprise to the UK
tabloid the Daily Star, which had been predicting Truss’s downfall in
the meanest way.
On Oct. 14, the Daily Star demonstrated its belief that Truss wouldn’t
last by setting up a live video feed trained on a head of lettuce,
accompanied by the title “Can Liz Truss outlast a lettuce?” Gradually,
the lettuce, adorned with a set of fake eyes to enhance its
anthropomorphic look, was joined by various other props meant to keep
the surprising number of lettuce watchers engaged.
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So far, the feed has racked up 34,000 likes on YouTube, the most of any
video on the tabloid’s channel. Hours after Truss stepped down, the
video stream continued to keep roughly 6,000 viewers engaged, the
lettuce by now updated with a celebratory smile, and the scene enhanced
by party music and champagne as the paper touted its political prescience.
LIVE: Can Liz Truss outlast a lettuce?
A brief history of UK media violence
Although the lettuce stunt might seem unusually mean-spirited to viewers
outside of the UK, in fact, it’s just the latest in a long tradition of
ruthless humor common to country’s media outlets. Whether the topic is
the royal family, a major business figure, or the previous prime
minister, Boris Johnson, the UK media delights in getting its knives out
to craft only the most biting headlines and graphics.
In entirely unsurprising news, the Daily Star Liz Truss vs. Lettuce
livestream has made Russian state TV pic.twitter.com/FseBCyYhyN
— Felix Light (@felix_light) October 14, 2022
From all appearances, Johnson, with his gregarious speaking style,
famously unkempt blonde coif, and penchant for taking chances in public,
might have seemed like the perfect target for UK media hazing. However,
Johnson, who worked in the UK’s rough-and-tumble news industry before
getting into politics, built a reputation for making fun of himself far
more aggressively than any media outlet ever could when he served as the
mayor of London from 2008 to 2016.
Some believe his thick skin is part of why he was tapped to follow the
outgoing prime minister, Theresa May, who was battered after a
multi-year political skirmish over Brexit.
The next prime minister will need even thicker skin
The UK expects to have a new prime minister in place by next week. The
leading potential candidates are Penny Mourdant, Rishi Sunak, Ben
Wallace, Suella Braverman, Brandon Lewis, and Kemi Badenoch. There’s
even speculation that Johnson may return to his role as prime minister,
now that he’s been properly scolded for his prior failings over Partygate.
Whoever succeeds Truss understands that they, too, may be faced with the
prospect of being endlessly roasted in the UK in a way that would make
the sometimes colorful headlines detailing US political intrigue look
fairly boring.
Nevertheless, as anyone who has ever watched the prime minister’s
“Question Time” knows, the UK’s politicians are well acquainted with
hand-to-hand political combat, even if that fight involves rotting produce.
