By Henry Austin
Liz Truss lost to a lettuce.
The gradual decomposition of the vegetable was slower than the unraveling of Truss's tenure as British prime minister, which ended with her resignation on Thursday.
The vegetable thus won the bet made in jest by the British newspaper The Daily Star, which placed a video camera to retransmit the evolution of the lettuce on the Internet 24 hours a day and find out if it would survive fresh the precarious Government of Truss.
So it was.
As Truss announced his resignation this Thursday in brief remarks outside his official residence, more than 12,000 users of the social network Twitter watched a live broadcast of the lettuce, which
cost about 68 cents
when the newspaper bought it last week and put in front of the camera with Truss's photo.
"Which lettuce will last the longest?" read the caption on the video, which was inspired by a piece in The Economist magazine titled
The Iceberg Lady
, referring to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, nicknamed
The Iron Lady
(The Iron Lady).
Who will replace Truss
Truss's resignation triggered a new leadership contest (the second in just four months) of the fractured and demoralized Conservative Party.
Possible successors include former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak;
former Cabinet Minister Penny Mordaunt;
and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, according to The Associated Press news agency.
Some analysts have speculated that Boris Johnson, who resigned as prime minister in the summer, could return, The New York Times reports.
Truss, right, and Sunak on August 31.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Jeremy Hunt, who was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer last week and is credited with restoring some economic stability, was also among the possible successors.
However, Hunt said Thursday that
he would not run for office.
[Elizabeth II dies: Carlos becomes the British king at the age of 73. This will be the succession and the goodbye to the monarch]
Another possible candidate is Suella Braverman, a former Home Secretary, who was also Attorney General and has a hard line on the entry of migrants to the United Kingdom.