United Kingdom | The race for power is on, Boris Johnson tempted by a comeback

(London) After the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss, a new race in Downing Street began on Friday, with probable desires for the return of Boris Johnson, who records his first supporters but also fierce opposition.

No candidate has yet publicly launched for this internal poll of the ruling Conservative Party, but the possible candidacy of Boris Johnson, in the front page of a large part of the press on Friday, takes shape as the declarations of support are multiply.

Photo DANIEL LEAL, Agence France-Presse

Business Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg on Friday became the first member of the current government to support Boris Johnson by launching the slogan #BORISorBUST, “BORISouLAFAILLITE” on Twitter.

The suitors are on the hunt for supporters to reach the threshold of 100 sponsorships required by Monday at the start of the afternoon. The name of the winner will be known no later than next Friday.

Three months after his departure due to a succession of scandals, those close to Boris Johnson are highlighting the legitimacy he derives from his electoral triumph at the end of 2019.

His opponents sharpen their blades, and recall the succession of lies and embarrassing cases of the three years of his mandate, which have left deep traces. Some Tory MPs are even warning they would quit if Johnson returns.

Accelerated process

“He had his chance,” said David Lidington, a former member of Theresa May’s government, on the BBC.

Seen by the Johnson camp as a traitor who precipitated Johnson’s downfall, Rishi Sunak was the preferred candidate of the Conservative MPs, before being finally dismissed in favor of Liz Truss by the adherents.

The current Minister for Relations with Parliament, Penny Mordaunt, darling of Tory activists who came third, is also a very serious candidate.

Whoever the next prime minister is, he will lead a party plagued by divisions in the face of opposition at the top of the polls, but above all a country plunged into a serious crisis of the cost of living.

Inflation exceeds 10%, the highest for 40 years, in a tense social context in the United Kingdom where strikes have multiplied in recent months, especially in transport.

The future head of government will be the fifth since the Brexit referendum in 2016 and the third in two months. A pace that, some observers on Twitter have mocked, would allow King Charles to beat his mother Elizabeth II’s record of 15 prime ministers by the summer of 2024.

Unpopularity

In order for a new Prime Minister to be appointed by Friday, October 28, an accelerated process has been put in place by the Conservative Party, in power for 12 years.

The threshold of 100 sponsorships thus limits the number of candidates to a maximum of three, the party having 357 deputies in the House of Commons.

Then, MPs will either have to agree on two names that the 170,000 party members will have to decide by online vote by October 28, or on the name of a single person who would then immediately enter Downing. Street. In the meantime, Liz Truss remains in power.

Arrived on September 6 at her post, Liz Truss was swept away by a deep crisis of confidence after reversals to calm the storm on the markets triggered by the budgetary announcements of her government.

She broke unpopularity records and landed the unenviable title of Britain’s shortest-lived prime minister.