Who is following Liz Truss? Possibly Rishi Sunak, who is now officially declaring his candidacy. But Boris Johnson is also sounding out his chances behind the scenes. A deal between the two apparently did not materialize.
Ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is running for Prime Minister again. "Britain is a great country but we are in a serious economic crisis so I want to lead the Conservative Party and become the next Prime Minister," Sunak wrote on Twitter. The 42-year-old is considered the favorite in the race to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss and already has significantly more than the necessary 100 supporters in the group together.
At the beginning of September, Sunak was defeated in the race for Johnson's successor by Truss, who is already leaving office after a good six unprecedentedly chaotic weeks. Sunak is now credited by many for repeatedly warning during the election campaign about the very chaos Truss unleashed on the financial markets with her economic policies.
Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also said to throw his hat in the ring again for the office of Prime Minister. Allies have already indicated that Johnson is ready and already has enough supporters. On Saturday morning, the 58-year-old landed back in London with his family after a short vacation in the Caribbean.
Johnson and Sunak had previously met - possibly to coordinate. But as the Times and Telegraph now report, they couldn't come to an agreement. The ex-prime minister and ex-finance minister met on Saturday night. British media speculated the two could agree a deal to avoid splitting the Tory party. For example, the scenario circulated that the favorite Sunak could offer Johnson a role in a future cabinet. With his resignation from the Johnson cabinet in the summer, the 42-year-old had played a major role in bringing it down.
According to the Telegraph, Johnson is said to have called his party early on Sunday morning and asked for support. His campaign team said on Saturday that the 58-year-old had already reached the necessary threshold of 100 supporters. However, doubts quickly arose, as only about half as many publicly spoke out in favor of Johnson. Johnson loyalist and Economy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg assured the BBC this Sunday morning that the ex-Prime Minister would run and had great support.
Also in the running is Penny Mordaunt, the minister responsible for parliamentary affairs, who officially announced her candidacy on Friday. Nominations can be received until Monday afternoon. By next Friday at the latest, it should be clear who will head the government in the future.
