in the Guardians It says: “As reticent as Boris Johnson is about his ambitions for the post of head of government, one thing is absolutely clear: he only withdraws from a political race when he believes he cannot win it. And so It was also on Sunday night.The former prime minister’s statement confirming his decision not to run was a classic of that Johnson genre: equal parts brawny insistence on his own ability to triumph and a feigned humility that he choose a different path for the sake of unity. In fact, many observers – and many Conservative MPs – have grave doubts about Johnson’s claim that he had secured the support of 102 MPs, when less than half that number had publicly stated so.”
Of the Mirror writes: “Humiliated Boris Johnson has withdrawn from the Tory leadership race, leaving his arch-rival Rishi Sunak in pole position to be ‘crowned’ Prime Minister within hours. The former Prime Minister has his dream of returning at 10 Downing Street after Tory grandees vented their anger and his campaign failed, admitting he was too divisive.” It continued: “Now there are fears Sunak will launch a round of brutal cuts in public services while millions struggle with the cost of living crisis. This will fuel calls for new elections.”
‘None of the issues that led to Boris Johnson’s ouster have been resolved’
the Sun reports on a meeting between Johnson and Sunak on Saturday night: “Both men agreed that the party will be forgotten if they can’t pull themselves together, but that’s about it. They spoke alone for less than an hour, and both Sides instructed their teams that what happened in the room should stay in the room.” Noisy Sun Sunak is said not to have held back. The tabloid writes: “A Tory source said: ‘It was friendly and warm but the reality is that a return for Boris would be a disaster for the party and Rishi has made that clear.’ A Sunak supporter said: ‘None of the issues that led to Boris Johnson’s ouster have been resolved. At best, they would have come back with a vengeance in the coming weeks.'”
Of the DailyTelegraph writes of Rishi Sunak: “No one can deny that those who supported Boris Johnson in the party leadership race knew exactly who and what they were voting for. The same cannot necessarily be said of Rishi Sunak, a man whose career so far has been was riddled with contradictions.” For example, “one of the strangest contradictions in Sunak’s career is that he was in favor of leaving the EU but has largely remained silent on the benefits of Brexit, while Liz Truss voted to stay but managed to establish herself as a Brexiteer to reinvent”. In addition, the DailyTelegraph states: “His support within the party is clear, but another problem he faces is convincing voters that he is a man of the people and not a ‘Davos man’ representing society favored by economists, central bankers and former colleagues at Goldman Sachs.”
the Times meanwhile demands: “The next prime minister must face the truth about Brexit.” The newspaper finds: “Whoever wins must admit how leaving the EU has affected our economy and poisoned politics – and take steps to tackle the problem.”