The resignation of the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, the British president who has held office for the shortest time (44 days) in the history of the United Kingdom, leaves the great unknown of who could replace her. Given the divisions in the party, there is no consensus candidate. But as many Tories fear that the departure of the premier will cause early general elections that, according to the polls, they would lose, they will try at all costs to find a successor who can lead the Government and the party until the next elections scheduled for January 2025. Here are some of the names that sound like:
The former finance minister was the most popular candidate to replace Johnson among Conservative MPs in Westminster last summer, but lost in a run-off to Truss in this Conservative primary. Sunak was among the first to get off the ship manned by Boris Johnson in July, sparking the rebellion that ended the Partygate premier. He was also one of those who warned about the dangers of the Truss economic plan (which cut taxes without explaining how it would cover the debt) for the markets. Bookmaker Betfair lists Sunak as the favorite to replace Truss, but Tories who remain loyal to Johnson would likely oppose this choice.
Hunt, a former health minister under David Cameron and Theresa May, has made a name for himself in Downing Street. They say he is the one now calling the shots, after the outgoing premier chose him to replace her ousted finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, last Friday. His appearance in the House of Commons on Monday where he shredded measure by measure Truss's economic plan and cover letter to come to power, has earned him the nickname of the "real prime minister", as some Tory MPs call him. .
Hunt insists he doesn't want the job, but has twice run for prime minister. In 2019 he made it to the final round and ended up losing to Johnson. But he does not have much support among parliamentarians.
The defense minister is one of the few ministers to have emerged from the recent political turmoil with greater credibility. Wallace, a former soldier, was defense minister for both Johnson and Truss, and led the British response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Popular with party members, he surprised many earlier this year when he said he would not run for leadership because he preferred to focus on his current job. A will that he repeated this week to the Times newspaper.
A former defense minister under Theresa May, Mordaunt was an ardent supporter of leaving the EU and narrowly missed out on the final run-off in the recent leadership challenge. The current leader of the House of Commons, she won praise for her performance in Parliament on Monday, when she defended the government (even as Hunt had just revoked most of its policies) while Truss sat quietly in her seat.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who won with a landslide victory in 2019, left office forced by a rebellion of ministers and after a host of crises marked by party scandals at his official residence during confinement. In his farewell speech, he used the humor that characterizes him and resorted to Terminator and his emblematic "Hasta la vista, baby" to hint at his intentions to govern again. According to what his closest circle said a month after his departure, the former president hoped to be able to return to Downing Street this year.
