On the 25th, 10 Downing Street in London, England welcomed a new owner. The day before Sunak officially became prime minister, Larry the tabby cat, the "chief mousetrapper" of the Prime Minister's Office, posted on social media "Twitter" asking the wealthy new owner to add food for himself: caviar and lobster. As the oldest qualified "rat catcher" at 10 Downing Street, Larry has sent off four prime ministers – Cameron, Theresa May, Johnson and Truss.
Larry appeared at the inaugural speech of new Prime Minister Sunak.
Become a popular "candidate" for prime ministerAfter Truss announced his resignation on the 20th, Larry's "Twitter" account posted a joke: "The king asked me to be the prime minister, because this absurd thing has been going on for a long time." Interestingly, in July, a child in the eastern British city of Peterborough bluntly told Truss that the British prime minister should be the cat, Larry, not her.
According to the British "Mirror" report, in July this year, Truss and Sunak competed for the leader of the Conservative Party, and in order to canvass votes, they made a special trip to a children's charity in Peterborough to talk with children there about British politics. The children at the scene were full of tongues and fairy words. "Where's Johnson?" One young boy said, "Do me a favor and if you become prime minister, get rid of him". Truss replied: "By then, he had to move out [from the Prime Minister's Office]." Another kid suggested that Larry, the well-known "chief mousetrap" at 10 Downing Street, be made "Prime Minister of the Cats." Hearing this, Truss was slightly embarrassed, and the smile on his face instantly froze.
After Johnson announced his resignation in early July, Larry tweeted his "political appeal": "There are currently 11 people running for prime minister, and no one has talked about the most critical issue: how many snacks can you give every hour? Can I arrange another meal between breakfast and lunch? Is there enough chance to rub your belly? ”
While Truss and Sunak were fighting fiercely, some people in Britain were canvassing for Larry. They made a campaign website for Larry and hung campaign billboards in the streets. The billboard features the heads of Truss, Sunak and Larry that reads: "If you had a choice, who would you vote for?" "Larry, born to lead." After Truss won the election, many Britons ran to Larry's "Twitter" account to "complain" about the new prime minister, and some simply suggested that "it is better to let Larry do the work."
On 5 October, Truss, mired in a crisis of governance, traveled to Birmingham to attend a Conservative Party conference and deliver a speech. She said she would continue to push ahead with a massive tax cut plan, adding that she was ready to make tough choices. Larry "took advantage of the fire", and his "Twitter" account posted that he "wants to take the opportunity to change the password of the gate of the Prime Minister's Office".
Not only is the public "optimistic" Larry, but even former Conservative politician Stewart told CNN: "Anyone in parliament can do better in the prime minister's position, even Larry, he will be a better prime minister." ”
Larry's "Twitter" account, which has more than 700,000 followers, is popular for its witty style, and is constantly retweeted and followed by various media outlets. According to research by news website Gizmodo, Larry's "Twitter" account is not officially authenticated by Twitter, and the operator behind it is "unknown." Some media believe that the operator of Larry's account may be an "insider" with in-depth knowledge of British politics.
On September 6, shortly after Truss officially became British prime minister and delivered his first speech at the Prime Minister's Office, Larry's social media accounts sent a tweet to Truss: "I just said something to Truss, and I said exactly the same thing when Johnson came to power: work hard, follow the rules, respect others, and never lie to the public." I only wish she paid more attention to these than he did..."
Obviously, "play by the rules" and "don't lie to the public" point directly to Johnson's previous "partygate" scandal. However, I am afraid that Larry did not expect that Truss's prime minister career would be so "short-lived". Otherwise, it might give her some more advice.
"Chief Rat Catcher" Larry stands in front of 10 Downing Street.
"The Lord" at 10 Downing StreetLarry has been at 10 Downing Street longer than most British prime ministers. Since Cameron, the prime minister, entered the Prime Minister's Office in 2011, the brown and white tabby cat has spent 11 years there and is loved by the British public.
In 2010, Larry from Battersea Cats and Dogs House, the UK's largest animal adoption charity, was selected by then-new Prime Minister David Cameron to succeed Humphrey, who retired in 1997, as Britain's "first cat".
Larry with former British Prime Minister David Cameron (center) and former US President Barack Obama (right) at 10 Downing Street.
The Prime Minister's Office website describes the "chief rat catcher" as follows: "Larry has captured the hearts of the British people, and the news media have always camped at the front door... Larry greets guests every day, inspects security and checks that antique furniture is suitable for sleeping. His day-to-day duties also include thinking about how to deal with rats in the Prime Minister's Office, which Larry says is still in the "tactical planning phase." ”
10 Downing Street has been around for 500 years and has long been plagued by rodent infestations, even by professional rodent trapping teams. Since then-Prime Minister Donald MacDonald brought the first "chief mousetrap" Bill to 10 Downing Street in 1924, 12 cats have served here. It is said that Larry, who was born a stray cat, performed well as soon as he entered the station, and caught 3 little mice in a small test, which became popular all of a sudden.
But unexpectedly, after adapting to the environment of the Prime Minister's Office, Larry "became lazy", it took a month or two to catch a mouse, and he was often photographed sleeping in the corner. The media, citing an insider at 10 Downing Street, reported that even when the rats were under their noses, Larry often remained "indifferent" and continued to sleep. Good news outlets published photos of him staring at a mouse in a crevice, and quipped that "Larry has been busy losing weight lately." Larry was even "negligent", and photographer Baker photographed Larry playing and releasing it after catching a mouse.
In view of this situation, the Prime Minister's Office introduced a "competition mechanism", and another cat named Fria took up his post. But "one mountain cannot tolerate two tigers", in the dead of night, the guard on duty found Larry and Fria "fighting" outside the Prime Minister's Office. In November 2014, Fria, who was hit by a car, "retired early", and Larry regained control.
In 2016, Theresa May replaced Cameron at 10 Downing Street, along with a cow cat named Palmerston. Palmerston is not a "newbie" in the workplace, before that it was the "rat catcher" of the British Foreign Office.
Because Palmerston was more efficient at trapping rats and had sent Larry to the hospital, Larry's position as "chief rat catcher" was once in jeopardy. Fortunately, Palmerston "returned home" in August 2020, and Larry's position as "chief rat catcher" has been retained to this day.
Larry is 15 years old and is already entering old age. The veterinarian said Larry was in good health and there was no indication of heart, kidney and liver disease. In March last year, the staff of the Prime Minister's Office received a new task - to help Larry lose weight, he gained 0.5kg during the coronavirus lockdown.
Larry walks in front of 10 Downing Street.
Make British politics entertainingLarry was the first cat to be awarded the title of "Chief Mousetrap" by the British government to the Cabinet Office, appointed by the British Prime Minister. Although Larry has been loved by the public for years, he does not seem to get along so well with several former prime ministers.
Although Cameron elected Larry to the Prime Minister's Office, there were rumors of "discord with Larry". Cameron vehemently denied this claim, and in order to prove his "innocence", Cameron also uploaded a photo of Larry sitting on his lap on Twitter. Cameron left office saying, "I'm sorry I can't take Larry with me – it belongs to this house and the staff love it, so do I." ”
Former Prime Minister Theresa May said in a 2016 interview with Britain's Sunday Times that she was "very happy to meet Larry", but hinted that she actually liked dogs. The BBC reported that she mentioned that some locations in the Prime Minister's Office were reserved for Larry, but her office was not among them. In May 2019, before Theresa May's departure speech, Larry, who was basking in the sun at the gate of 10 Downing Street, was carried back by the police in advance.
After Johnson took office in July 2019, he intended to adopt a dog. The British media took the opportunity to "fan the flames", saying that Larry's position was threatened. Perhaps in response to people's heated discussions, Johnson deliberately posted a photo of himself with Larry in his office at 10 Downing Street for the first time on social media on August 8 of the same year, International Cat Day, with the caption "Happy Holidays to our 'Chief Mousetrap Officer'".
However, on September 2 of the same year, Johnson's pet dog Dylan officially moved into 10 Downing Street, and since then people have often seen Johnson and Dylan as companions, and even led Dylan to "sell cute" in front of the media when voting.
In his exit speech at 10 Downing Street on the morning of September 6 this year, Johnson made a point of thanking Dylan, telling the Conservatives that "if Dylan and Larry can put aside their differences, then so can the Conservatives". Larry's figure appeared on the BBC. Later, Larry's "Twitter" account posted with a picture: "Yes, I came out to confirm that he was gone, he was gone." ”
When Truss was in office, Larry didn't appreciate her very much. On October 1, Truss received visiting Danish Prime Minister Fraser Ricksen, who was crouching at Truss's feet at the time, and she introduced the British "first cat" to Fraser Ricksen. Unexpectedly, when Truss bent down to touch Larry, Larry turned his head and walked away. Truss could only laugh awkwardly: "Ran away." ”
On the 25th, the new Prime Minister Sunak officially entered 10 Downing Street and became Larry's fifth "shovel officer". On the 24th, Larry specially posted on "Twitter" to "shout" Sunak: "The new prime minister's family is super rich, starting tomorrow, I will have caviar and lobster on my menu." "It's just that the youngest prime minister, facing the most difficult situation in Britain after World War II, doesn't know how long he will stay in the Prime Minister's Office and how his relationship with Larry will be."
"Larry makes British politics entertaining." The Independent wrote, "It is more popular than any British prime minister in history." ”
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