Global Eye: 'Growing feeling that Sunak govt doesn't give a sense of stability'

The cabinet rejig seen in the United Kingdom this week with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacking Suella Braverman as home secretary and the return of former PM David Cameron as the new foreign secretary is a "continuation of chaos" seen in British politics over the last two years, said Navtej Sarna, former Indian ambassador to the UK.

"I think what we've seen over the last week or so is a continuation of the chaos we have been seeing in British politics over the last couple of years. Certainly, since the last year when you had a very short-term Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and then the change," Sarna told CNBC-TV18 on The Global Eye.

Sarna also added that the Sunak government doesn't give a sense of stability.

"I think there has been a sort of growing feeling that the Sunak cabinet and the British government on several issues do not give a sense of confidence. And Baverman’s comments, really possibly thinking from Rishi Sunak’s point of view, have been upsetting a lot of moderate conservatives or centrist conservatives."

Cameron, who headed the UK government from 2010 to 2016, was nominated by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a cabinet reshuffle in which he removed Braverman, a polarising figure who garnered criticism for accusing police of being too indulgent with pro-Palestinian protests and replaced her with former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Cameron's appointment surprised veteran political pundits.

"Bringing back David Cameron is quite a striking thing to have done. It was rather surreal, actually, on Monday morning, when we saw David Cameron getting out of the car in Downing Street. Many of the commentators simply couldn't believe what they were seeing. It's a very surprising thing to have done. But its meaning is not quite clear yet," said Nigel Fletcher, Professor of Politics at King's College, London.

Not just that, the differences between the two leaders is no secret, Fletcher said. An important aspect of foreign policy under Cameroon would be the current establishment's stance on China.

"As someone who has had quite a lot of involvement in his private business dealings with China, that's caused a degree of controversy. The Cameron government was very different from some of the more skeptical approach that we've seen from, indeed, a hostile approach that we've seen from some in the Conservative Party recently," Fletcher added.

On the other side of the Atlantic, meanwhile, the meeting of US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is seen as "truly a turning point in China-US relations," said experts.

"I would say the summit meeting in San Francisco is truly a new turning point in China-US relations. The two countries now have a new page to write upon for whatever they may do in the coming weeks, months, and probably a couple of years. And there may be a lot of heavy lifting to be done in the future," said Victor Gao, Vice President, the Center for China and Globalization (CCG).

Gao stressed that it is time for the US and China to stabilise relations to benefit their economies.

“I personally would urge President Biden to accept some professional counselling in answering questions. Some of the questions are traps that you do not need to voluntarily and very eagerly jump into. And I think, from the Chinese perspective, we just need to focus on the positive side rather than being distracted by the negative side. The Chinese government has already condemned the misuse of the words that Biden used to describe the Chinese leader, which was completely unacceptable."