Boris Johnson will have resisted until the end. And besides, he hasn’t left yet. The British Prime Minister, under pressure from his majority, therefore ended up announcing his departure on Thursday at a press conference in front of 10 Downing Street in London. The 58-year-old former mayor of London said he would remain in power until his successor was appointed.
>> United Kingdom: after the resignation of Boris Johnson from the leadership of the Conservative Party, how will the next Prime Minister be appointed?
And, almost instantly, the race to succeed Boris Johnson began within the British Conservative Party. Without waiting for the timetable, scheduled for next week, for the election of a new Conservative leader, MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament, thus confirmed his candidacy on Thursday evening, thus becoming the first to declare after the announcement of the departure of “BoJo”.
But it is not this name that comes up with the most insistence, among bookmakers as in the polls: it is rather that of Ben Wallace. Minister of Defense under Boris Johnson, this measured conservative has, to his credit, given the United Kingdom’s unwavering support for Ukraine on a military level, and had campaigned against Brexit.
Just like Liz Truss, another name that circulates: we have long lent the desire to go to Downing Street to the one who fervently defended the exit from Europe. Minister for Foreign Affairs, she has a more traditional profile in her party, sometimes compared – to her great delight – to Margaret Thatcher. It is very liberal economically.
In this area, Rishi Sunak, a former investment banker and former finance minister, is a champion. He advocates enrichment through work, low taxes and little regulation for companies. But he also received a fine for having participated in one of these famous pirate parties during the confinement in full Covid-19. Not to mention that his wife, daughter of a billionaire, practiced tax optimization which displeased the public.
Many other names are still circulating and this is also the legacy of Boris Johnson: a fractured party which today notes its embarrassment rather than rejoicing in its wide choice.