British tabloid stunt: Liz Truss or a head of lettuce

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Photo of Liz Truss next to a head of lettuce: So far, the live stream of the "Daily Star" has not progressed too quickly

Photo: Youtube / Daily Star

Liz Truss has only been in office for a few weeks – but there is already speculation that the British Prime Minister will soon be gone.

After messing up the British financial markets with chaotic decisions and ending up with disastrous poll numbers herself, members of her own party are said to be calling for her replacement.

Boris Johnson's successor had, among other things, brought in a lot of criticism for tax reform plans - whereupon Truss made a U-turn and fired her finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng.

Because the situation for the Prime Minister is becoming increasingly critical, the British tabloid "Daily Star" started a live stream on Friday morning, which is intended to answer just one question: does Liz Truss stay in office longer than a head of lettuce stays fresh?

The newspaper had already raised that question on its front page.

Viewers can now watch a picture of Truss on a table next to an iceberg lettuce via YouTube.

Beyond that there is nothing to see.

But over the next few days, the lettuce will probably gradually change color from green to brown.

On Friday afternoon, the stream was initially only attended by around 100, then soon more than 1,300 viewers.

They published comments like "Long live the salad" or "Liz has no chance" via the chat function.

An idea from a more serious magazine

The idea for a duel between the prime minister and a salad came from an article in the business magazine The Economist that went viral on social media in recent days.

At the beginning of that text, Truss was said to go down in history as the prime minister who has been in power for the shortest time.

'Mrs Truss arrived at Downing Street on September 6th' was how this prognosis was explained.

“On September 23, she blew up her own government with a package of unfunded tax cuts and energy price guarantees.

Subtracting the ten days of mourning after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, she was in control for seven days.

That's about the shelf life of a lettuce."

It remains to be seen how long Truss will really be in charge of state affairs.

In Germany, too, politicians have had to put up with unwanted online campaigns about their professional status.

For example, the youth association of the FDP Munich built its own website that answers the simple question of whether Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer is still in office.

Since Scheuer regularly left office in December 2021, the answer on the website is simply: »Nope.«

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