Rishi Sunak: UK's ex-Treasury chief gets 2nd shot at PM job

LONDON (AP) — Rishi Sunak ran for Britain's top job and lost. Now he has another shot — and the chance to say “I told you so.” 

The former U.K. Treasury chief was runner-up to Liz Truss in the contest to replace the scandal-plagued Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and prime minister. But Truss quit after a turbulent 45-day term, and Johnson has abandoned a comeback attempt, leaving Sunak a strong favorite to finally assume the office he missed out on less than two months ago. 

Victory in the Conservative leadership contest would be vindication for Sunak, who warned in the last campaign that Truss' tax-cutting economic plans were reckless and would cause havoc. And so they did. 

Truss resigned last week after her package of tax cuts spooked financial markets, hammered the value of the pound and obliterated her authority.