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A note for PM Truss
True, Truss assumed power not through an election like her predecessor Boris Johnson, but she still has a good chance to stay at least until the 2025 election.
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Another chapter: Standing outside 10 Downing Street, the United Kingdom's newly appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss poses for photographers with her husband Hugh O'Leary after delivering her first speech as prime minister in central London, on Sept. 6.
(AFP/Isabel Infantes)
We hope the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss will have dumped her confrontational campaign promise to take Russian President Vladimir Putin head on and “call him out in front of those very important swing countries like India and Indonesia” and instead discuss the issues diplomatically with the Russian president in person at the Group of 20 summit in Bali in November.
Such an “immature” plan would not only embarrass the host Indonesia but also breach the basic etiquette shared among world leaders. In doing so, the United Kingdom would not reap any benefit but to annoy Indonesia and India, holder of the next G20 presidency.
India abstained when the United Nations member countries, including Indonesia, condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Indonesia, however, refused to join the West in slapping an economic embargo on Russia.
True, Truss assumed power not through an election like her predecessor Boris Johnson, but she still has a good chance to stay at least until the 2025 election and help the world emerge from the global conundrum. As the previous foreign minister, she knows very well the UK’s strategic interest in ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific region, where tensions between major powers are intensifying, which is why she should focus on a long-term diplomatic agenda aimed at promoting world peace and order.
In a televised public debate to win the Conservative chairmanship over Sunak, Truss insisted that she would be more effective in dealing with Putin than the former chancellor. Truss obtained 81,326 votes from party members to beat former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who collected 60,399 votes, becoming the fourth British prime minister in six years on Monday, the world is keen to see Truss demonstrate maturity and morph into a down-to-earth leader.
Truss could follow in the footstep of her predecessor Johnson, who initially demanded Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ban Putin from attending the Bali summit for his invasion of Russia, but later softened his stance. Johnson even warned that “any boycott of the summit by Western nations risks handing the propaganda opportunity to others”.
Johnson’s previous harsh call was immediately shared by fellow Group of 7 leaders especially French President Emmanuel Macron and United States President Joe Biden. The Western leaders changed their minds only after being personally approached by President Jokowi, who told them that as the host he had no right to unilaterally blacklist any leader of the G20 members without prior approval from all leaders.
As foreign minister, Truss attended the G20 foreign ministers meeting in July, although she made an early exit in order to win the Conservative Party top job back home. But at least she has seen and felt enough of the beauty of Bali.
President Jokowi has personally conveyed his invitation to G20 leaders, although not to all of them, but it is in the interest of the group and beyond that everyone invited turns up for the summit. We expect the G20 summit to produce concrete results for Indonesia, the entire G20, especially the developing members of the group, and the world.
PM Truss, we are waiting for your arrival in Bali and your contribution to multination efforts to deal with the crises afflicting the world today.
