Kate Plummer
Oct 25, 2022
Indy
It happens to all politicians eventually. Sooner or later, whatever their policies, views or competency - politicians become memes.
It happened when Liz Truss spoke about cheese, it happened when Boris Johnson did just about anything. We just didn't expect it to happen so quickly into the usually slick Rishi Sunak's premiership as Tory leader. We thought we had time to prepare.
But then he gave his first speech as Tory leader, coming in under 90 seconds, in which he said very little then paused awkwardly at the end and the writing was on the wall - he had become a meme.
"I'd like to pay tribute to Liz Truss for her dedicated public service to the country," he said.
"She has led with dignity and grace through a time of great change and under exceptionally difficult circumstances both at home and abroad.
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"I am humbled and honoured to have the support of my parliamentary colleagues and to be elected as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party.
"It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve the party I love and give back to the country I owe so much to.
"The United Kingdom is a great country. But there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge.
"We now need stability, and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together."
Because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better, more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren.
"I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility, and I will work day in, day out to deliver for the British people."
Yeah, yeah, Rishi but why did you deliver that like a malfunctioning robot?
That, and more, is what Twitter wanted to know:
\u201cRishi Sunak acting also robotic in his first speech. Think we\u2019ve going to need another lettuce.\n\n\u201d— Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@Dr. Jennifer Cassidy) 1666626866
\u201cThis guy is as bad at giving speeches as Liz Truss and it\u2019s gonna be gratifying watching people discover that in real time. He fucking sucks.\u201d— Sooz "Halloween" Kempner (@Sooz "Halloween" Kempner) 1666627903
\u201cRishi Sunak's speaking style makes Liz Truss look relaxed and fluid.\u201d— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1666624973
\u201cThe automated voice on a reversing bin lorry has more charisma than Rishi. \nhttps://t.co/iOyJ6Js9rl\u201d— Farage\u2019s Amazon Echo \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Farage\u2019s Amazon Echo \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1666627568
\u201cThis is so Batshit gonna watch it on repeat for next 5 minutes\u201d— Rosie Holt (@Rosie Holt) 1666624781
\u201cOnce you see/hear this, you can\u2019t unsee/unhear it.\u201d— Paul Waugh (@Paul Waugh) 1666639632
\u201cWell, I thought Sunak's speech was sincere and genuine.\u201d— Everyone's Favourite Jim (@Everyone's Favourite Jim) 1666626705
\u201cBREAKING: We've replaced the Trussbot with the Rishbot x\n\nhttps://t.co/daDWdvcq4k\u201d— Laura Kuenssberg Translator (@Laura Kuenssberg Translator) 1666625185
\u201cSomeone added a Windows XP shutdown sound to this \ud83d\ude02\u201d— Mahyar Tousi (@Mahyar Tousi) 1666628177
\u201cIt\u2019s mad how small Rishi Sunak actually is\u201d— Olaf Falafel (@Olaf Falafel) 1666640468
We're ready for Rishi, but is Rishi ready for us?
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