LONDON -- Britain has had a tough 12 months and its problems will not "go away" in 2023 -- but the coronation of King Charles III will help bring the country together, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Saturday in his New Year message.
Sunak, who in October became the third Conservative British prime minister of the year, said the U.K. was rocked this year by the "profound economic impact" caused by Russia's war in Ukraine.
He said his government has taken "difficult but fair decisions to get borrowing and debt under control" and helped Britons cope with a cost-of-living crisis driven by sharply rising energy bills.
Sunak did not mention the U.K.'s political chaos this year, which saw former Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit in July after a string of scandals and his successor Liz Truss resign after less than two months in office.
Britain's economy and politics have calmed down since then, but Sunak still needs to tackle a slowing economy, widespread workers' strikes in reaction to the cost-of-living crisis and a fractious Conservative Party that's losing popular support after 12 years in power.
"I'm not going to pretend that all our problems will go away in the new year," he said.
But he added that the U.K. would "come together with pride in everything that makes this country great" for the coronation ceremony of Charles III.
Charles became monarch immediately upon his mother Queen Elizabeth II's death Sept. 8, 2022. He will be formally crowned May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London.
GERMAN PROGRESS
Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is celebrating Germany's progress in freeing itself from reliance on Russian gas, urging people to keep saving energy in the new year and vowing to keep up help for Ukraine.
Scholz's televised new year message focused on the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and his government's efforts to cushion the impact for people in Germany.
But, he added, "the history of 2022 is not purely one of war, suffering and worry." Ukrainians are defending their homeland, "thanks in part to our help -- and we will continue to support Ukraine," he said.
Germany has given military equipment and financial aid.
The European Union and NATO, Scholz added, are more united than they have been for a long time, "and we in Germany did not bow down when Russia turned off the gas this summer."
Russia, which used to account for more than half of the country's natural gas supply, hasn't delivered any gas to Germany since the end of August.
Germany embarked on an effort to store gas and diversify its supplies after the invasion of Ukraine and started building liquefied natural gas terminals. Others are set to follow in the coming months.
"With these efforts, we are making our country and Europe independent of Russian gas for the long term," Scholz said. "And we are getting ourselves through this winter -- also thanks, incidentally, to well-stocked gas storage facilities."
Scholz also pointed to various packages the government has put together to dampen the effects of rising prices for energy and other things. Germany's annual inflation rate stands at 10%.
The chancellor said last year's story is one of "cohesion and strength -- and, yes, one of confidence as well" and urged Germans to continue in the same vein in 2023.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press.