LONDON –
To the sounds of Britain’s national anthem, a national newspaper said on Thursday that a lettuce was the winner of a race to see if it could survive Liz Truss, after the prime minister resigned under fire.
The Daily Star tabloid put up a live stream on Friday showing the unchilled iceberg next to a photo of Truss, asking readers: “Which moist lettuce will last longer?”
He then expanded the painting by adding a wig, face and hands clutching the vegetable, as well as two British flags, a pastry on a plate and a red cup bearing the caption “Keep Calm and Carry On”, a slogan used to to boost the morale of the British during the Second World War.
More than 12,000 Twitter users watched the stream as Truss announced his resignation outside the Prime Minister’s residence in Downing Street.
Moments later, as the viewership hit 21,000, “God Save the King” rang out as a hand reached across the table and placed Truss’ photo on his back and the caption “Lettuce has outlived Liz Truss” popped up.
The stunt echoed a comment on the other end of the British journalistic spectrum. In a column published last week called “The Iceberg Lady”, The Economist magazine described Truss as having “the shelf life of a lettuce”.
Truss’ political role model, 1980s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was widely known as the Iron Lady.
Appointed on September 6, Truss succumbed to mounting pressure after being forced to sack her finance minister and closest political ally, Kwasi Kwarteng, following a disastrously received economic package that sent shockwaves through the financial markets.
Reporting by John StonestreetEditing by Alexandra Hudson