Media365
Before becoming the Prime Minister of the US, Rishi Sunak revealed the cost a politician has to secretly pay — by displacing family from first priority for the sake of the people, party. In August 2022, during the final high-stakes hustings of the Conservative Party leadership race in Wembley, Rishi Sunak revealed that the greatest sacrifice he made was to become an appalling husband and father.In early 2020, Sunak was thrust from relative political obscurity into the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer— just weeks before the global COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed the United Kingdom.Sunak had to dive into immediate crisis management and he engineered the multi-billion-pound furlough scheme, negotiated emergency economic bailouts, and navigated the intense, round-the-clock warfare of Downing Street politics. This pressure cooker did not relent; it directly rolled into the collapse of Boris Johnson’s government, followed by the grueling, multi-month leadership campaign against Liz Truss.At this event, Sunak spoke profusely about his family. “This final hustings is special for me because the two people who inspired me to enter public service are actually here tonight – my mum and dad,” he said.“It was their example of service and what they did for people that inspired me to enter politics. Mum, dad thank you for always sacrificing and striving to provide a better life for your kids than you had. And, thank you for teaching me that with hard work and belief and the love of your family there is no limit to what someone can achieve in our great country,” he said.What is the greatest sacrifice to be in the running to become the UK’s first non-white Prime Minister? Sunak was asked at that event. “The greatest sacrifice I have made is that I have been an appalling husband and father for the past couple of years, it’s as simple as that,” he said and this is one of the most remarkable statements of the former PM. This showed the family man that Sunak was but also how he chose to put his job before his family for the UK.“That is something that is really hard for me because I love my kids to bits, I love my wife to bits and unfortunately, I have not been able to be as present in their lives at all in the past few years as I would have liked to have been,” he said.“But that’s because I believe it’s an enormous privilege to have these jobs. I care passionately about our country and think I can offer something that will benefit millions of people, that’s why I do it and I am really blessed to have their support as I do,” he added.Sunak, born to Punjabi East African-born Hindu parents who migrated to the UK in the late 1960s, was the eldest of three siblings. His father, Yashvir, was a busy NHS family doctor, and his mother, Usha, ran “Sunak Pharmacy,” a local chemist shop in Southampton. Sunak met his wife, Akshata Murty, in 2004 while they were both studying for their Master of Business Administration at Stanford University in the United States. They married in 2009 in a two-day ceremony held in Bengaluru, India.
