Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi was voted in by parliament as Japan’s first female prime minister on Tuesday, emulating her hero, Britain’s late leader Margaret Thatcher, after a whirlwind few weeks of political wrangling.

Having won an all-male race to be chosen by her ruling Liberal Democratic Party as its leader on October 5, Takaichi had to scramble for support after the party’s more moderate coalition partner quit their 26-year alliance.

Attention now turns to her big spending plans that may jolt investor confidence in one of the world’s most indebted economies, and her nationalistic positions that could stoke friction with powerful neighbour China, political analysts say.

A former economic security and interior minister, Takaichi has repeatedly referred to Thatcher as a source of inspiration, citing her strong character and convictions coupled with her “womanly warmth”.

Like Thatcher, Takaichi’s relatively humble background – her mother was a police officer and her father worked at a car company – stands out in a party where many leaders hail from elite political families.

A long-time advocate of the late prime minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” stimulus policies, she has called for higher spending and tax cuts and pledged to reassert government sway over the Bank of Japan.