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Truss channels her inner Thatcher

Since Liz Truss was appointed Foreign Secretary in Boris Johnson’s reshuffle, she has upped the ante when it comes to the visual element of the job. As well as appointing a new special adviser focussed on social media (who can no doubt compete with Rishi Sunak’s own social media whizz kid Cass Horowitz), Truss rarely misses a photo opp whether it’s for Instagram or tomorrow’s front pages. 

Today is no exception. After warning this morning ahead of a meeting of Nato counterparts in Latvia that a Russian incursion into Ukraine would be a strategic mistake, Truss appears to have adopted the view that a picture can say a thousand words. The Foreign Secretary has been photographed riding in a tank in Estonia. The shot has clear parallels with the 1986 shot of Margaret Thatcher in a British tank in West Germany visiting British forces.

As Truss celebrates a year at the top of the ConservativeHome cabinet league table and talk increases of her as a successor to Johnson (with red wall MPs allegedly setting up a ‘Liz for leader’ group), what ever could Truss and her team be trying to say? 

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Steerpike
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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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