Judging by the polls, Great Britain will soon have a new prime minister – Liz Truss. Her main rival Rishi Sunak is under fire because of Boris Johnson's affairs in which he himself took part, and Truss, as the current Foreign Secretary, is the first choice for the new British Prime Minister.

Sunak and Truss remained the only candidates after several rounds of voting for the future leader of the Conservative Party, and thus of the British government. The decision on the winner is made by members of the Conservative Party, and the results will be announced on September 5.

However, according to a recent YouGov poll, Liz Truss has a solid lead over Sunak with 62 percent to his 38 percent. In addition, 40 percent of respondents said they could not trust the former finance minister because of his involvement in Boris Johnson's affairs.

Who is Liz Truss?

Elizabeth Marie Truss was born on July 26, 1975. She was educated at Oxford University, and before entering politics, she worked as a commercial director in the oil and gas company "Shell".

Truss has held a number of roles in the British government over the past decade. Despite voting to remain in the European Union, she managed to position herself among MPs as a trusted figure in the post-Brexit period.

She has been involved in post-Brexit trade negotiations between the UK and the EU and has worked to forge new free trade links with other countries and is popular among members of the Conservative Party.

Her political idol is Margaret Thatcher, which she has never hidden, and her openly harsh attitudes towards Russian President Vladimir Putin are also in her favor.

Russian influence in the Balkans

During a recent visit to Sarajevo, Britain's foreign minister and potential prime minister said her country wants to be at the forefront of efforts to preserve peace and stability in the Western Balkans and will counter Russia's "malignant" influence in the region. .

She announced a special package of financial support for the Western Balkans of 100 million dollars until 2025, which aims to help the economic progress and thus the stability of the region.
"Russian threats to return to the dark days of the Iron Curtain period must be stopped," Tras said, adding that Russian interference in BiH's internal affairs was clearly visible.

She emphasized that the most important thing now is to help Ukraine and at the same time ensure that Putin loses the war he started and that Russia can never again be a threat to world peace.

"We're not going to help them by flattering Putin," Truss said, adding that Ukraine needs a new Marshall Plan for reconstruction, with arms aid.

She described Russia's attempt to use hunger as a weapon as appalling and said that Putin must lift the blockade on grain exports from Ukraine and that any lifting of sanctions against Russia or "flattery that will make Putin stronger" out of the question.

Britain, Truss said, remains committed to supporting peace and stability in the Western Balkans and countering Russia's malign influence in the region.

Earlier this year, Boris Johnson's government imposed sanctions on BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik and Republika Srpska President Zeljka Cvijanovic, calling them responsible for implementing policies that undermine the Dayton Agreement and threaten the breakaway of RS.