The UK Conservative Party's new leader and soon-to-be Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is already coming under fire with critics labelling his first public address as robotic.
In the speech Sunak paid tribute to his predecessor Liz Truss who resigned last week after just 44 days in office.
"We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together. Because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better, more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren," Sunak said.
"I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility, and I will work day in, day out, to deliver for the British people."
But it wasn't the content of his speech that drew criticism. Instead Sunak's emotionless delivery was picked out.
One of his critics included Daily Mirror political editor John Stevens who called the UK's new Prime Minister "The Rishbot".
It was a view shared by chief political correspondent at The Sun Natasha Clark who called him "Robot Rishi".
"Robot Rishi goes in. Tells nation in very static clip: 'We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together'," Clark tweeted.
Meanwhile, social media users were also confused by Sunak's robotic delivery.
"Rishi Sunak's first speech read off an autocue sounding like a robot...some passion from the man about [to] lead the country," one said.
"Why does Rishi Sunak look like he is reading a prompt on the back of his eyes when he reads a speech? He's like a robot running out of charge," another added.
Others questioned why Sunak wasn't looking at the camera and instead appeared to be reading an autocue to the side.
But not everyone was disappointed with UK broadcaster Piers Morgan calling it a "perfect speech".
"Brief, no frills, no bullsh*t, no Latin phrases... and to the point. Britain's a great country in a very tough spot, and he has a tough job to do to try to sort it out, so he's going to get on with it," Morgan tweeted.
Who is Rishi Sunak?
One of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster, Sunak, 42, will become the country's youngest leader in modern times - and its third in less than two months - as he takes over during one of the most turbulent eras in British political history.
He replaces Truss, who only lasted 44 days before she said she would resign, needing to restore stability to a country reeling from years of political and economic turmoil and seeking to lead a party that has fractured along ideological lines.
The multi-millionaire former hedge fund boss will be expected to make deep spending cuts to try to rebuild Britain's fiscal reputation, just as the country slides into one of the toughest downturns in decades, hit by the surging cost of energy and food.
A recent mini budget by Truss, which triggered her downfall, pushed up borrowing costs and mortgage rates, and sent investors fleeing. British government bonds rallied aggressively in the run-up to Sunak's victory, and extended their gains on Monday.
Sunak, who will be appointed Prime Minister by King Charles on Tuesday, will also have to work hard to hold Britain's dominant political party together after some accused him of treachery earlier this year when he resigned from the cabinet of former leader Boris Johnson, triggering his downfall too.
Newshub/Reuters
