Status: 10/22/2022 01:58 am
The candidates to succeed British Prime Minister Truss are expected to be announced by Monday. They need broad support from the Tory faction. Ex-Finance Minister Sunak is apparently the first to meet this requirement.
After the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss, the Tories want to arrange their successor as quickly as possible – in about a week it should be clear who will move to the head of government in the future. Now, with former finance minister Rishi Sunak, the first possible candidate has apparently been identified, and he has the necessary backing from his own party to run for the post of prime minister.
Nominations for the Truss successor can be received until Monday (3:00 p.m. CEST). The prerequisite for this is that each candidate has at least 100 Tory MPs behind him or her who express their support for him or her.
According to Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, that is the case with Sunak. Ellwood himself stated on Twitter that he was the 100th MP to support the ex-Treasury Secretary. The newspaper “The Guardian” had previously reported that Sunak had the necessary number of supporters.
No official candidacy yet
Sunak has not yet officially submitted his candidacy, but he is considered one of the favorites to succeed Truss. Penny Mordaunt, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, from the right-wing conservative camp, who only resigned on Wednesday, are also being traded as possible candidates.
Mordaunt has already publicly announced her willingness to take over the post of head of government on Twitter. “I have been heartened by the support of colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest,” she wrote. As party leader and prime minister, she wants to unite the country, implement the Tories’ election promises and win the next general election. Whether Mordaunt can also unite the necessary 100 MPs behind him is still open.
British Tory party is looking for a successor for Prime Minister Truss who has resigned
Annette Dittert, ARD London, daily news at 8:00 p.m., October 21, 2022
Voting procedure depends on the number of candidates
The requirement of the supporters’ quorum means that there is theoretically a maximum of three candidates in the running for the post of prime minister, as the Tory faction has 357 members. If three potential successors actually reach the necessary number of supporters, the parliamentary group should first vote on Monday. The candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated, and the decision between the two remaining candidates would then be up to the party base.
If only one candidate receives the support of 100 members of the parliamentary group, he or she would automatically be the new party leader and thus also the new head of government.
Second chance for Johnson?
In addition to the favorites already mentioned, there is also the question of whether ex-premier and Truss predecessor Boris Johnson wants to start a possible comeback.
British Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg was the first cabinet member to speak out in favor of his return. “I’m backing Boris” (“I support Boris”), the Brexit hardliner, who is considered eccentric, tweeted on Friday. He also provided his tweet with the hashtag #BORISorBUST (in German: Boris or to break).
According to reports, ex-Prime Minister Johnson, who only left office at the beginning of September due to numerous scandals, is said to be interested in running again. But even with Johnson it is unclear whether he will receive enough support in the group. In addition, an investigation is currently underway in Parliament to clarify whether the former prime minister lied in connection with the Partygate affair about prohibited lockdown celebrations at 10 Downing Street, the seat of government.