“The lettuce is in a secret location somewhere in East London.” Andy Gilpin prefers to remain vague. “We are talking about a national treasure”adds the deputy editor of the Daily Star. It must be said that the first price salad bought for 60 cents by the London tabloid has been worth gold for twenty-four hours and the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss.
The beginning of his journey dates back to last week. On the shelves of a supermarket in the British capital. “An opinion piece published in The Economist said that Liz Truss had the same political life expectancy as a lettuce.” The kind of comparison popular British newspapers love. “We didn’t have to break the bank to find out if it was true.”
Some 18,000 people live
The Prime Minister has just separated from her Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, who has been in office for only five weeks. The financial crisis triggered by the promise of massive tax cuts compensated by the debt severely rocked his government.
The Daily Star wonders in one, October 14, “which lettuce will live the longest”, above a photo of Liz Truss and the famous salad. A live is launched the same day on the YouTube channel of the tabloid “read mainly by the working classes” and sold 175,000 copies daily. On a small desk, the framed portrait of the Prime Minister, on the right. And the lettuce, on the left. “At the peak of live, we had 18,000 peoplesays Andy Gilpin. Some people would talk to each other, say ‘good night’ and then come back a few hours later. In a difficult time for the country, it brought a little joy.”
Towards joining the Conservative Party?
The phenomenon attracted the attention of social networks, then other British media and finally the international press. The lettuce – “who has no name, call her what you want” – adorns himself with a wig, plastic eyes, legs, a Union Jack, a disco ball. She also changes location sometimes. When the minister responsible for relations with Parliament, Penny Mordaunt, justifies the absence of Liz Truss before the deputies by assuring “that she is not hiding under the desk”, the two protagonists migrate… under the desk. Every day the Daily Star covers the political chaos with a photo of salad and a title in the form of a vegetable pun. “I think we’ve exhausted them all”smiles the assistant editor.
At the same time, lettuce wilts, but holds firm. the Daily Star gave him ten days of life. The Prime Minister ended up throwing in the towel after the seventh. Highlight of the show, shortly after Liz Truss’ speech, the vegetable gives a short victory speech. “We don’t really have a political position, but we don’t hesitate to point the finger at idiots, summarizes Andy Gilpin. And it became apparent early on that Truss and his government were idiots.” It is rumored that lettuce could now join the Conservative Party. Even run for Number 10 – his odds are 1,000 to 1 at the bookmakers. His only promise: not to tell salads.