Well, that didn’t last long. Far from becoming the next Margaret Thatcher, Liz Truss became perhaps the first Prime Minister footnote in history. After only six weeks, Truss has resigned from her office, and the Tories have to go back to the drawing board:

BREAKING: Embattled U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation.

Truss, who only became prime minister on September 6, will be the shortest serving prime minister in modern political history. https://t.co/B5JXEfTp0B pic.twitter.com/JgD6XDey1i

— ABC News (@ABC) October 20, 2022

U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation on Thursday.

Truss, who only became prime minister on Sept. 6, will be the shortest serving prime minister in modern political history.

Her resignation follows weeks of political and economic crisis, after the government introduced a new “mini-budget” which was roundly criticized.

Truss was PM for six and a half weeks. Say what you will, but at least she knows how to avoid overstaying a welcome.

Needless to say, this is a political humiliation for the Tories, who now have to come up with another party leader to replace the party leader who replaced Boris Johnson. Speaking of whom, the Express reports that Johnson’s six-week exile may be enough to return on parole, calling him one of the “favorites” for the newly empty seat in 10 Downing Street:

Since leaving Downing Street, Mr Johnson has remained in the House of Commons as a backbench MP, similar to Theresa May.

Former Prime Ministers do not normally play a huge part in future Governments, as a way of distancing themselves from the decisions made by their successors.

But Mr Johnson remains active in Parliament and has a vote on all of the key matters debated. The fact that he decided to remain in politics suggests that he may still feel he can contribute at the highest level of Government again.

The former Prime Minister also remains a popular figure internationally, having built strong relations with several world leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Is six weeks enough distance from the scandals that brought Johnson down? That seems doubtful, especially since his demise was hastened by his ministers abandoning him less than two months ago. That would be a very humiliating climbdown by Conservatives, whose voters might well wonder what the hell they were thinking with this game of musical chairs in the first place.

They may not be the only voters wondering that, either. Labour leader Keir Starmer wants a new election immediately:

#BREAKING UK opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer demands general election 'now' pic.twitter.com/72dEbaXjD1

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 20, 2022

Tories won’t do that until they have their own leadership set, of course, but now it’s anyone’s guess what that leadership will be. Penny Mordaunt came close in the last leadership election, and she put word out today that she will “keep calm and carry on” for now. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will not contend for the top spot, he’s already announced. Hugh Hewitt would like to see Defence Minister Ben Wallace take the PM spot, but it’s not clear how much support he would have from Tory MPs at the moment. Given the shambles that Truss leaves behind, some may be reluctant to put themselves in a fraught position for the clean-up.

If anyone’s motivated at all to step into that, it might be Johnson himself. He’d certainly like vindication, or at least the opportunity for atonement, and he’s still a major figure in British politics. He also knows how to win national elections, and perhaps the personal nature of his scandals rather than political incompetence (like Truss’) leaves the door open for a comeback now. Stay tuned.

Update: Oh, this hurts …

Liz Truss lasted 4.1 Scaramuccis

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 20, 2022

I admit it, I laughed. Scaramucci later offered some admiration for Truss, however:

I admire her for being in the arena and for doing what is right by stepping down at this time. https://t.co/FmgNndictb

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 20, 2022