Who will succeed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson? Tory members had the choice between ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Your decision will now be announced.
The conservative politician Truss was the clear favorite in the vote. In the past few weeks, 200,000 party members have been able to vote by post or online who will become Tory party leader – and who will lead the new government and move into Downing Street. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss had previously prevailed in several rounds of voting by the Conservative MPs – among these, Sunak was the clear favourite.
Truss is assigned to the right wing of the party. In the inner-party election campaign, the 47-year-old was particularly convincing with her plan to immediately lower taxes despite enormously high inflation. She also scored points with the party base – which is significantly older, more male and wealthier than the average British population – with a confrontational line towards the EU and populist statements about refugees, left-wingers, environmental activists and social minorities.
Sunak accused his rival of telling “fairy tales” with her economic plans and portrayed himself as a politician who is not afraid to speak unpleasant truths in times of crisis. He would not consider tax cuts until inflation is under control again.
Johnson retires on Tuesday
The change at the top of the British government will take place this Tuesday. Johnson will address the population one last time as prime minister and then resign from office. He then flies to Scotland to ask Queen Elizabeth II at her country estate of Balmoral Castle for his release. The fact that the audience is taking place there and not in London’s Buckingham Palace is extremely unusual and has to do with the mobility problems of the now 96-year-old monarch.
What does the future hold for Boris Johnson? A political comeback cannot be ruled out.
(Photo: POOL/REUTERS)
After numerous scandals, Johnson is stepping down from office under pressure from his cabinet and the public. The “Partygate” affair about banned lockdown celebrations in Johnson’s official residence had shaken him. Several other scandals and his handling of them ultimately brought him down. When prominent members of his cabinet resigned, triggering a mass exodus from the ranks of the government, the 58-year-old felt compelled to resign.
However, a comeback is not ruled out. The politician, who will initially remain a simple MP, still has a strong support base in the party. According to reports, some of them are already preparing a vote of no confidence against his successor in order to bring Johnson back to office as quickly as possible. The decisive factor will be whether a parliamentary inquiry into the “Partygate” affair comes to the conclusion that Johnson knowingly misled parliament. This could possibly lead to the loss of his mandate.