Estate of Liz Truss | Rishi Sunak could become prime minister on Monday

(London) Former British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak appears in a strong position to become, perhaps as early as Monday, the new British Prime Minister in place of Liz Truss, after the spectacular abandonment of Boris Johnson.

Mr Johnson, whose candidacy deeply divided his Conservative party, said in a statement on Sunday evening that he had the 100 supporters necessary to present himself, but that he had given up because of divisions in the right-wing formation.

“Over the past few days, I’ve come to the sad conclusion that it just wouldn’t be the right thing to do. You can’t govern effectively if you don’t have a united party in parliament,” added the former head of government, who left Downing Street in early September after a flood of scandals.

He had returned on Saturday from vacation in the Caribbean, to ensure the 100 support of deputies necessary to present himself. He claimed he got 102.

This withdrawal paves the way for the appointment to Downing Street of Rishi Sunak, 42, unsuccessful candidate this summer against Liz Truss, ephemeral prime minister who resigned after only 44 days in power.

During an intense weekend of negotiations, Mr. Sunak announced his candidacy on Sunday. “I want to fix our economy, unite our party and act for our country,” he said on Twitter, promising “integrity, professionalism and responsibility”.

Mordaunt clings

He is currently the only candidate with the necessary 100 supporters. The other candidate, Minister for Relations with Parliament Penny Mordaunt, is far from it. He still has Monday morning to get there, a task that seems difficult. She let it be known on Sunday evening that she was staying in the race, presenting herself as the one who could unite the party.

If it obtains the necessary support and remains despite the advance of its rival, the members will have to decide between them by an online vote by Friday.

Otherwise, Rishi Sunak could be appointed prime minister as soon as Monday evening, the fifth since the 2016 Brexit referendum, which opened a page of economic and political turbulence in the United Kingdom. This grandson of Indian immigrants would then be the first racialized person in this position in the country.

“We will always be grateful” to Boris Johnson, he said on Twitter on Sunday evening, recalling that his former boss, with whom he had been at loggerheads for months, had been the man of Brexit, that of the bet large-scale implementation of a vaccination campaign against COVID-19, and had led the country through “some of its most difficult challenges”. He also mentioned his support for Ukraine since the invasion of Russia.