Liz Truss is the shortest-lived prime minister in British history, having only been in office for 49 days.
Many people may think that she is not suitable to be prime minister, but in the eyes of Truss herself, being prime minister is not a beautiful difference.
She recently wrote a new book, "A Decade to Save the West," in which she recalls her days as prime minister.
(Truss's new book)
There are two most attractive parts of the book, one is that Truss encountered a major event such as "the death of the queen" two days after taking office, and she recalled the scene of the queen's last days as an eyewitness;
The second is a series of "exclusive experiences of being prime minister" after she lived in No. 10 Downing Street, and listening to a former prime minister complain about various inconveniences in life is also quite fresh.....
(Truss in front of 10 Downing Street)
[The queen passed away two days after taking office,
Truss madness: Why me? Why now?]
Unless you are particularly interested in politics, you can remember what Truss did during her tenure, and most ordinary people may only have three impressions of her -
Britain's third female prime minister, who stepped down in 49 days, and she was the last prime minister appointed by the queen herself.
On September 5, 2022, Truss won the election, and the first big thing in front of her was to go to the queen, and at the same time accept Boris's resignation, and go through the process to officially take office.
During that time, the Queen lived in Balmeral, Scotland, to recuperate.
On Tuesday, September 6, 2022, both the outgoing Boris and the incoming Truss will go there to meet the Queen.
At first, Boris suggested that the two men take the same plane, but the Home Office did not agree to the suggestion because it felt too risky to let the two prime ministers fly on the same plane.
So Boris flew first, followed by Truss on another flight.
This is actually Truss's second one-on-one meeting with the Queen, the last time she was dismissed from a government post.
At that time, the queen told her that it was difficult for women to take the road of politics, and Truss's experience fulfilled this.
(Truss has also seen the queen before)
With this meeting, Truss is about to take up a more important position.
She was the 14th Prime Minister personally appointed by the Queen, who stood up to greet her in the living room.
People close to the queen told Truss that the queen had "made a special effort" to meet her, but she showed no signs of discomfort throughout the meeting.
(The queen shakes hands with Truss)
The two chatted for 20 minutes on political topics, and the queen obviously knew everything about the UK, and she was quick to respond, and she was wise and funny.
So at that time, Truss didn't realize that the queen had come to the end of her life, and she didn't expect that day to come so soon.
The first time she really realized something was wrong was on Wednesday night, Sept. 7, the day after she took office.
At the time, her new ministers were preparing to take the oath of office, and the queen had planned to attend the inauguration ceremony remotely via video.
But just before the ceremony, they suddenly received news that the queen could not come.
(Before the queen could still get up to greet Truss)
From then on, a set of plans that had been prepared for a long time began to be implemented.
Someone from Truss's home in Greenwich, south London, helped her get a black mourning dress in case she needed it.
Buckingham Palace had been talking frantically on the phone with her men, and she was beginning to wonder what she would say if "that incredible event" really happened.
On Thursday, September 8, 2022, they received the news of the Queen's peaceful death at Balmoral Castle.
Catching up with such a big event on the second day of becoming prime minister, Truss feels very unreal.
She was in a state of complete shock, and her mind was thinking,
"Why me? Why now?"
Truss felt that it might be more appropriate for other prime ministers to mark this historic moment with emotive rhetoric.
Because she is not very good at expressing feelings, but there is a deep sense of sadness in her heart.
(Truss meets the Queen at Balmoral Castle)
The day after the Queen's death, she met the new King Charles for the first time at Buckingham Palace.
She felt that there was a "strange camaraderie" between her and Charles, because she had just become prime minister and Charles had just become king, and both of them were a little unfamiliar with the new role, and neither was yet very comfortable with it.
(Truss and Charles meet)
So Truss's first weekend in office was spent with her family.
The family watched the Queen's hearse leave Balmoral Castle for Edinburgh on TV, and at that moment, Truss suddenly felt overwhelmed by grief and burst into tears on the couch.
Truss said she would never forget the Queen's last meeting with her, especially at the end of their conversation, when the Queen warned her that "being prime minister is particularly old-fashioning".
And, of course, the Queen's two-word mantra for her: "Pace yourself".
(Truss speaks at the Queen's funeral)
[No furniture, there are fleas, it's very troublesome to order takeout, the cutest thing at 10 Downing Street is the cat]
Truss's first few days in office were chaotic, not only to deal with matters related to the death of the Queen, but also to move once and live in 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence.
In the public imagination, it should be a safe, solemn and mysterious place.
Although Truss has only lived there for a short time, it has already led her to a different conclusion - living there is somewhat inconvenient.
(Truss and her husband arrive at 10 Downing Street)
Let's talk about "living" first, No. 10 Downing Street is actually the office of the Prime Minister and his leadership team, and the Prime Minister's residence is upstairs at No. 11 Downing Street, and the apartment is divided into several floors and is very spacious.
When the former Prime Minister Boris and his wife moved out, they took their furniture with them.
So the logistics staff collected some furniture from the British department store chain from all over the place and furnished them with accommodation.
The Truss family also bought some furniture for themselves, but before they could receive it, she had already stepped down.
Truss said she felt the curtains in the prime minister's house were tasteful, but they didn't have the legendary golden wallpaper.
There have been many reports in the media about Boris and his wife spending a lot of money to renovate their apartment, but the actual effect does not look like it.
(Truss is welcomed by the staff)
In contrast, another incident upset Truss even more - there were fleas in the Prime Minister's official residence.
Legend has it that Boris' dog brought the fleas into the Prime Minister's residence, but that's just a legend.
As a result, the entire 10th Downing Street had to be sprayed with an insecticide that kills fleas.
Truss said she was still itching for a few weeks after moving in.
(Mr. and Mrs. Boris and their dog Dilling)
In addition to this, Truss also found that 10 Downing Street is not a quiet place.
There are always protesters outside who are noisy and shouting slogans over loudspeakers.
There was also the bell of the cavalry regiment nearby, which rang every 15 minutes.
If you lie in bed with insomnia at night, you can know how long you have been insomnia just by counting the bells, and Truss has tried it herself.
(10 Downing Street)
Not only is "living" unaccustomed, but the Truss family soon discovered that ordering takeout on Downing Street was also troublesome.
When they first moved in, they encountered such an incident.
That day, Truss's husband, Hugh OLeary, ordered some food from the supermarket for them to have delivered to his door.
The merchant first repeatedly confirmed with him that the order delivered to the prime minister's official residence was not a prank.
Then, O'Leary began to inquire about how to receive the food, such as where the food would be delivered, whether the guards would let the merchant put the food in the cordon, whether there was anyone to help sign for the delivery, and a series of questions.
After asking around, I finally figured it out, but O'Leary waited for a long time, but still didn't see the shadow of the order.
He called the merchant and told him that the order had been delivered for a while.
In fact, the staff at No. 10 Downing Street had already helped them sign for the receipt, but because they were afraid of disturbing the Prime Minister's family, they kept putting things there and didn't dare to give them to them, so they made a big fuss.
(Ocado delivery van)
However, 10 Downing Street is also a popular place to visit, which is the chief rat catcher of the Prime Minister's Office, the cat Larry.
Trasqua is the "savior of 10 Downing Street", and it's a lovely character.
(Larry Yuzhao)
Sure enough, even the Prime Minister finds it useful that cats can provide emotional value.
(Truss petting the cat)
[The Prime Minister is a "prisoner" trapped at 10 Downing Street,
You have to do your own thing.]
Truss said in the book that the most uncomfortable thing about living in 10 Downing Street was being trapped there all the time, like a prisoner.
She can't just go out for a run or a walk, and needs security to drive her to Hyde Park and find a quiet area for her to run, like a prisoner being taken to a designated playground to let off steam.
Even then, she won't be able to run for long, and she will be stuffed into a bulletproof car by the security guards and taken back to the impregnable mansion.
Truss lamented that she is like an isolated person, who can only rely on the few people who can come into contact with her.
Looking back after her departure, she lost count of how many former colleagues had said the same thing to her: "Liz, if you call me, I'll help you." ”
(When Truss left, the staff sent her off)
But the reality is that there is only a limit to how much help the staff can provide her.
She soon found out that the prime minister was treated just like that.
As a temporary prime minister, she does not have enough trusted subordinates in terms of work, and there are often leaks of information.
She was in a meeting with other officials, and a few hours later the erroneous report appeared in the newspaper, which greatly affected her normal work.
In terms of personal life, she still has to do a lot of things herself.
As one of the people with the most opportunities to appear in the UK, the prime minister has no makeup artist and stylist, and Truss must do her own makeup and hairstyle.
And the medical support for the prime minister is also limited.
Once she had a cough and her secretary had to run out in the middle of the night to help her buy medicine.
It wasn't a secretary's job, but there was no one else who could do it for her at the time.
(Truss walks out of 10 Downing Street)
Truss is a person who likes to talk and think, but after living in 10 Downing Street, even if she has time, no one talks to her.
During that time, her family became Truss's strongest backing.
In the book, she says that her most trusted confidant was, and still is, her husband O'Leary, and that the couple faced the upheaval of life together.
They had two daughters, 16 and 14 at the time, and they moved into 10 Downing Street on the weekend before the start of the new term.
The two daughters often help them run errands because it is easier for the children to go out without being detected.
To Truss's relief, her daughters can still go to a friend's house for the night like ordinary children.
As family members of the prime minister, the two daughters also have some experiences that ordinary children do not have, such as visiting nuclear bunkers.
(Truss and daughter)
Witness historical events and get an exclusive experience of 10 Downing Street,
Although Truss has only been prime minister for 49 days,
But it's quite rare to have such a life experience......