Directions: In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.

The United Kingdom is fast becoming a cautionary tale for how bad politics can lead to ___(1)___. Prime Minister Liz Truss was once seen as a new hope for breathing life back into the sinking fortunes of the U.K. Conservative Party after its previous leader, Boris Johnson, ___(2)___ of success with the COVID-19 vaccine program and embarrassed Downing Street with the Partygate scandal. Now, Ms. Truss is in her party members’ crosshairs ___(3)___ disastrous set of economic policy proposals on the country, which was already shuddering under the weight of global developments impacting energy prices, inflation, and economic activity. Flipflops, U-turns, and ___(4)___ long-term strategy for economic stability and growth have marred what little merit there might have been in her advocacy of policies to transform the U.K. into a “high growth, low cost” economy. The questionable, doctrinaire ideas at the heart of the Truss government’s missteps, which in its worst moments required the Bank of England (BoE) to step in with a £65bn emergency bond-buying program ___(5)___ and the cost of government borrowing, stem from her campaign promise to cut taxes extensively. While most Tories would in principle be happy with that proposition, what has befuddled macroeconomists is that instead of following up her energy price guarantee scheme — ___(6)___ in the face of rising gas prices linked to the Ukraine invasion — with consultation with the BoE on stabilizing inflation, Ms. Truss jumped headlong into tax cut mode.