On Thursday, when it was announced that British Prime Minister Liz Truss would step down after only 45 days in office, there was shock, confusion, and plenty of laughter. One British tabloid even suggested an unlikely candidate to succeed Truss: a head of lettuce that had managed to endure what Truss could not.
In the midst of controversy sparked by an economic strategy that soon disintegrated after it sent shockwaves across the British economy, 47-year-old Truss announced her resignation on Thursday.
The information put Truss, who succeeded previous British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after the latter resigned amid scandal, on course to hold the record for the shortest tenure of any prime minister in the history of the country.
Just two days after being formally appointed as prime minister, the news of Queen Elizabeth's passing catapulted Truss into the international spotlight, but criticism soon overshadowed her position. Critics said that Truss had lost control of her own government at the same time that other lawmakers were publicly demanding for her resignation.
In her writings, she laments how swiftly she lost control of the administration. According to The Economist, Truss only had "seven days in control," or, as the publication put it, "about the shelf-life of a lettuce."
The British tabloid Daily Star swiftly capitalised on the analogy by placing a live stream of a head of lettuce next to a picture of Truss and posing the question, "Will Liz Truss outlast this lettuce?"
The head of lettuce won on Thursday.
The tabloid posted on Twitter on Thursday, "BREAKING NEWS: THE LETTUCE HAS OFFICIALLY OUTLASTED LIZ TRUSS AND WON." I salute you, lettuce.
Following the resignation, the newspaper continued to rejoice, even releasing a video in which the lettuce toasted its victory while the British national anthem played in the background and party lights flashed.
Chris Bryant, a Labour MP, said on Sky News that "the lettuce might as well be running the country" in the midst of the confusing reporting of Truss' resignation.
