Liz Truss cancelled her BBC interview hours before it was set to be broadcast this week, leaving her critics to speculate over just what her first act as prime minister might be.
The frontrunner in the race to be Boris Johnson’s successor, Truss is widely expected to be elected to No.10 by the Conservative Party members on September 5.
However, her campaign has not been entirely smooth-sailing.
There was a quick policy U-turn over regional pay, international friction triggered by her refusal to say if French president Emmanuel Macron was “friend or foe” and further tension caused by Truss’ claim that Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon is an “attention-seeker”.
On Monday, her team decided to pull out of the pre-arranged interview with BBC journalist Nick Robinson, shortly before it was due to air on Tuesday.
Reportedly, she could no longer spare the time to appear on “Our Next Prime Minister”.
Her opponent Rishi Sunak had completed his interview with Robinson almost three weeks before, on August 10.
Pulling out of the interview means she is now likely to end the leadership contest without a single in-depth sit-down interview on TV or radio under her belt.
Unsurprisingly, Truss’ no-show did not land well among her critics, with many Twitter users pointing out that dodging scrutiny does not exactly bode well for someone who is pipped to face criticism every week during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).
Truss has already refused to outline how she would do to alleviate the worsening cost of living crisis, especially as the energy price cap is set to increase to £3,549 come October 1.
Avoiding such a high-profile interview has sparked further speculation over what Truss’ actual policies might be – and how she will deliver on her promise to “stand up” to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
And of course, there was speculation whether the reluctance to do another interview stemmed from Truss’ gaffe-prone nature...