In the headlines
Prepare for “a summer of bitter infighting”, says Stephen Bush in the FT, as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss battle to become the next PM. It’s already a weird race: Sunak, a committed Brexiter who “first wrote an essay railing against the European Union at the age of 16”, is being dogged by accusations of socialism. Truss, “a former protégé of George Osborne who campaigned to Remain”, is the strong favourite among true-blue party members. Given the pair’s “significant disagreements” over economics, it’s unlikely there will be a place in the Cabinet for the loser, “which means neither candidate has much reason to hold back”. As Boris Johnson departs, says the Daily Mirror, we’re “out of the lying man and into the dire”. Italian prime minister Mario Draghi has resigned after three parties in his coalition government refused to back him in a confidence vote. The president asked him to stay on as “caretaker leader” until elections this autumn, says the BBC. Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni is “already being tipped to win”.