The phones are ringing in leaders’ offices around the world announcing Britain has a new Prime Minister. As is both diplomatic necessity and ornamental tradition, an incoming Downing Street occupant makes a series of calls to the country’s most important allies presenting themselves and getting straight to business Liz Truss broke with recent convention: she called first Ukraine’s frontline leader Volodymyr Zelensky rather than the US President.
This choice captures what Prime Minister Truss wants to be: continuity with Boris Johnson on his one truly successful legacy — British support for Ukraine — but with a bit of oomph. And a willingness to be less clingy and deferential to the United States, given how she wants London to be purposeful and willing to spend on security. This is because she sees herself in a different position to her predecessor when it comes to the US.
