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Rishi Sunak, Finance Minister during the coronavirus pandemic, is emerging as favorite to succeed Liz Truss as British PM, while Boris Johnson has started to test the waters for a possible comeback just months after resigning amid scandals.
Sunak, 42, warned during last summer’s Conservative primaries that Truss’s fiscal plans were going to collapse the UK’s finances, a warning that proved accurate and has given wings to his allies to claim him as the natural successor to the head of government, who announced her resignation on Thursday.
The former Finance Minister was also the candidate who received the most support among Tory MPs in those primaries, although he lost the last vote of that process, in which the party’s base opted for the aggressive tax cuts proposed by Truss to boost the economy.
The Conservative leader’s downfall after just 45 days in Downing Street has led Johnson to raise with his close circle the possibility of running again, The Times has revealed.
These are the main candidates to succeed Truss:
Rishi Sunak
He has advocated the need to raise corporate and other taxes to start reducing the huge debt generated by the pandemic stimulus plans, which he designed.
The former Finance Minister won all rounds of the previous primaries where Conservative MPs voted, making him one of the candidates capable of bringing unity to a party deeply divided into factions, although he lost in the primaries – where affiliates voted – to Truss.
Boris Johnson
The Downing Street party scandal during the pandemic plummeted Johnson’s popularity as PM (2019-2022), but four months after he announced his resignation, he has regained traction in the polls.
In a poll of Tory members published this week, 32% of the party’s base want him to return to power, while 23% prefer Sunak.
Penny Mordaunt
Defense Minister during Theresa May’s government and current Conservative leader in the House of Commons, Mordaunt, 49, came third in the last Conservative primaries. After being eliminated, she expressed her support for Truss, to whom she has been loyal until she announced her resignation today.
Mordaunt’s political profile has risen just this week, having taken it upon herself to defend the PM in Parliament when Truss refused to rebut in person the opposition’s criticisms. Her strong intervention received praise from many political commentators and raised her chances of being elected next Conservative leader.
Ben Wallace
The 52-year-old current defense minister is one of the most respected politicians within the Conservative Party for his handling of the Ukraine back-up plan that the UK has deployed in recent months.
His name appears on most lists of candidates that could generate unity among the Tories, although Wallace has not voiced any ambition to lead the government and remained neutral in the previous primaries.
Suella Braverman
A favorite among the far right wing of the Conservative Party, the 42-year-old former state solicitor general aspires to run as the candidate of choice for conservatives who are dissatisfied with both Johnson and Truss.
Her resignation as interior minister on Wednesday afternoon was one of the tiptoes that has precipitated Truss’ fall as head of government.
