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A British tabloid pitted Liz Truss’s time in office against the shelf life of a head of lettuce. The lettuce won.

“What a great day to be a lettuce.”

By Shannon Larson Globe Staff,Updated October 20, 2022, 11:14 a.m.
The lettuce outlasted Liz Truss.The Daily Star

All hail the conquering lettuce.

In a cheeky contest held by the British tabloid The Daily Star to see whether Prime Minister Liz Truss had a longer shelf life than a head of lettuce, it was the Conservative Party leader who wilted first.

Truss resigned amid political turmoil Thursday after just six weeks in office, making her the United Kingdom’s shortest-serving prime minister. So it’s the vegetable purchased by the news organization for just 60 pence — and then decked out with googly eyes, a blonde wig, and a tiny royal crown — that will, ahem, romaine in power.

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“Can Liz Truss outlast a lettuce?,” the newspaper asked in a live video that has gained international attention since it began streaming last week. The store-bought food was plopped on a table next to a photo of Truss and later given toy feet and hands as people waited to see who could last longest before being tossed out.

For this unscientific experiment, it was the lettuce by a head.

To commemorate the occasion, The Daily Star turned on colorful disco lights that swirled in the background and played a remix of “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang. The smiling lettuce was served a glass of what appeared to be champagne and was joined by other googly-eyed friends. Thousands of people watched the live footage after Truss’s resignation speech Thursday.

“A Prime Minister who could romaine in power for the long haul,” the newspaper company tweeted.

The tabloid’s punchy lettuce joke was inspired by The Economist, which on Oct. 11 wrote that Truss faced political fallout almost immediately after taking power, and had “seven days in control” that they compared to “roughly the shelf life of a lettuce.”

When Truss announced she was stepping down, people on social media were quick to react to the news that the lettuce had emerged victorious. They commended its “endurance to win out” and wondered if the leafy vegetable would now serve as prime minister.

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As grocery chain Aldi put it: “What a great day to be a lettuce.”

Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.

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