Downing St
Sunak is favorite for the British prime minister post
Rishi Sunak could become the new British Prime Minister. photo
© David Cliff/AP/dpa
After a U-turn by ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, everything points to Rishi Sunak as the next British Prime Minister. But his remaining rival, Penny Mordaunt, isn’t giving up just yet.
Ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is the clear favorite in the race to succeed outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Sunak extended his lead. More than 178 MPs from his Conservative Party – and thus more than half of the parliamentary group – spoke out publicly for the former finance minister, as the Sky News broadcaster reported in London on Monday. This puts the pressure on the only other contestant, Penny Mordaunt, to withdraw from the competition. The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs has so far rejected this.
According to public counts on Monday morning, Mordaunt was still far from the necessary number of at least 100 supporters.
Should Mordaunt actually collect the 100 supporters, the faction would first vote between the two candidates. If both finalists want to remain in the race afterwards, the party base would have the floor in a short-term online vote. The new prime minister should be announced by Friday at the latest. However, if only Sunak gets the necessary backing, he would already be prime minister on Monday afternoon. The son of Indian immigrants, Southampton-born Sunak would become the first British leader from an ethnic minority background in Britain.
The Tory party is already looking for a new leadership after just under two months. Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss is stepping down from office after six unprecedentedly chaotic weeks under pressure from her party. Her predecessor Boris Johnson was quick to talk about a comeback, but surprisingly withdrew on Sunday evening. Candidates can enter the race until Monday afternoon (3:00 p.m. CEST). However, only those who have the backing of at least 100 of the 357 Tory MPs are eligible.
Sunak had warned of financial chaos
Home Secretary Grant Shapps, who is one of Sunak’s supporters, stressed in an interview with Sky News on Monday morning that the favorite was relaxed, but did not think he had the win “in his pocket”. Sunak can present himself as a candidate capable of uniting the party. At the weekend, Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch and ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman also backed him from the party’s right-wing fringes. The 42-year-old benefits from the fact that in the last election campaign for party leadership he warned of precisely the financial chaos that Truss caused with her economic policy during her short term in office.
In addition, following Johnson’s surprise withdrawal, several prominent supporters of Operation Bring Back Boris have switched to the Sunak camp. Secretary of State James Cleverly wrote on Twitter that Sunak had the most experience and could count on his support.
Ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel and cabinet member Nadhim Zahawi also spoke out in favor of Sunak.
Johnson himself was defeated on Sunday evening after speculation about a comeback ran high over the weekend. This would have had the potential to throw the deeply divided Conservatives even deeper into chaos: several MPs had threatened to refuse Johnson’s allegiance as prime minister or even leave the party if this were to happen. An investigation is still pending over the scandal politician as to whether he lied to parliament in the “Partygate” affair – which would be considered a political knockout criterion.