Finalists to succeed Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister

British Conservative MPs named two finalists this Wednesday Next to Prime Minister Boris JohnsonAmong these, in the coming weeks, Conservative Party caucuses will elect their new leader and head of government.

After Four consecutive rounds of knockout voting, On Tuesday, three candidates were in the running: former finance minister Rishi Sunak with 118 votes, former defense minister Benny Mordant with 92 and current foreign minister Liz Truss with 86 votes.

A final vote will be held later in the afternoon Last appearance of Johnson Ahead of Parliament’s summer recess, in Parliament to answer the weekly questions to the Prime Minister who has returned from vacation You will already see the emergence of a new head of government.

The two finalists will be announced at 15:00 GMT.

Although not initially preferred, SunakBritain of Indian grandparents, quickly strengthened its support And his ticket to the final battle is practically assured, while the race against him against conservative bases has narrowed.

After Johnson’s dramatic resignation as leader of the Conservative Party on July 7, leaving him as head of government once a successor is found, a long internal race to replace him began last week.

First, the 358 Conservative MPs voted consecutively Elimination Rounds.

The organization’s nearly 200,000 members will vote by mail in August to select two finalists.

Winner will be announced on September 5th.

As for the rest of the candidates, the UK is on track to have its first Asian prime minister, or the third female prime minister in the country’s history.

The finalists will go on a tour to campaign before voters and despite his strong support among delegates, Sunak is far from certain to win. In fact, recent polls among party members predict it could lose by a wide margin.

“Pressure Campaign”

Last weekend, two televised debates were held between the five remaining candidates, in which Truss, a right-wing representative, and Sunak, a conservative supporter of the post-pandemic budget, went at each other.

The foreign minister accused her former finance minister of dragging the country into a “recession” by raising taxes and social charges on the back of out-of-control inflation, which hit a historic high of 9.4% year-on-year in June. It chided him, among other things, for voting against Brexit.

Truss, a big admirer of former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, wrote in the conservative Daily Telegraph on Wednesday that her plan to revive the economy was “Based on tax cuts, deregulation and drastic reforms.”

These types of internal elections are common in a political system accustomed to removing leaders when there is no electoral appeal.

Johnson came to power in July 2019, elected by the Conservative Party to replace Theresa May, who won a snap general election in December that year with a huge majority.

The process usually results in Drama, twists and backstabbing.

Against this tense backdrop, Mordaunt, the surprise of the campaign, may emerge as the division’s candidate, a naval veteran who was briefly first defense minister under May and is now secretary for foreign trade.

Unlike the other two “continuity” candidates, his campaign team promises he embodies “change.”

In recent days, she has appeared unconvinced in the debates and has been heavily accused of incompetence, but has argued that the attacks are an attempt to unseat her because of her popularity in conservative circles.

Former minister David Davies accused Sunak of giving his supporters’ votes to Truss to avoid facing Mordant in the final battle. “He wants to catch Liz because he will lose a debate against her,” he told LBC radio. “This is the worst campaign I’ve ever seen,” he added.

Billionaire Sunak, England’s richest MP, is seen in Johnson’s circle as the man who betrayed him when he announced his resignation on July 5, sparking 60 more resignations from government and the eventual fall of the Conservative leader.