Boris Johnson withdraws from Downing Street race

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson withdrew from the race in Downing Street on Sunday night, in a stunning turn of events just hours before the nomination window closed.

• Read also: Rishi Sunak formalizes his nomination for Downing Street

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson withdrew from the race in Downing Street on Sunday night, in a stunning turn of events just hours before the nomination window closed.

While those orders are set to close at 2:00 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Monday, Johnson said in a statement that he has secured the 100 care needed to stand up. But he said: “Over the past few days I have come to the sad conclusion that it would not be the right thing to do. You cannot govern effectively if you do not have a united party in Parliament.”

He says he is convinced that, if he were a candidate, he would have “a good chance (…) to return to Downing Street” and says he is “in a good position” to lead his camp through the next legislative elections scheduled for two years.

This withdrawal could pave the way for the appointment of former Finance Minister Risi Sunak on Monday: he is currently the only candidate with 100 necessary supporters. The other candidate, the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Penny Mordaunt, is far from it.

During a weekend of intense negotiations, Mr Sunak, 42, set out Sunday in the race to succeed Liz Truss, who resigned after just 44 days in power.

“I want to reform our economy, unite our party and work for our country,” he said, announcing his candidacy on Twitter, promising “integrity, professionalism and responsibility.”

Boris Johnson’s camp had claimed over the weekend that the 58-year-old former prime minister, who returned from vacation in the Caribbean on Saturday, had also reached 100 supporters, contradicting at least three unofficial charges that gave him the evening Sunday between 57 and 76 announced. supporters.

“I have spoken to Boris Johnson and it is clear that he will introduce himself,” said one of his relatives, Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg.

As for the second declared candidate, Minister for Relations with Parliament Penny Mordaunt, she was approached by Boris Johnson, according to her entourage, and asked her to withdraw in her favour. Mordaunt told the BBC she was a favorite to win.

Dominic Raab, former deputy prime minister of Boris Johnson, said support for Rishi Sunak was “rising by the hour”.

Among his most prominent recent supporters is former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, an influencer on the right wing of the party and loyal to Boris Johnson for years.

Even if they did not support him, many Conservative MPs were keen to express their affection for Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign at the beginning of July after a deluge of scandals and lies. This perennial optimist and “champion” of Brexit remains popular with the party base.

But for many, including in his camp, he is too controversial to ever return to Downing Street. Especially as it remains the subject of a parliamentary inquiry, set to begin soon, to determine whether he lied to Parliament about the “party gate” of these illegal parties in Downing Street while in anti-Covid confinement.

“It would be a guaranteed disaster,” Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker said on Sunday, predicting that Johnson’s government would collapse from within within months.

A guardian of budget orthodoxy and a workaholic, Rishi Sunak appears to be a better option at a time when the country is going through a serious economic and social crisis, exacerbated by the disastrous mistakes of Liz Truss that destabilized markets and caused the book.

Mr. Sunak had regularly warned this summer about Liz Truss’s economic plan. He did not convince the party activists who had the last word and elected her.

The campaign to redeem it will only last a few days at best.

If Penny Mordaunt does not step down and reaches 100 endorsements, Tory MPs will vote on a provisional Monday afternoon to tell the party base who their favourite.

Members will then be able to vote online until October 28. Indicative voting for MPs did not exist this summer, when nearly 140,000 party voters elected Liz Truss, while MPs preferred Rishi Sunak over him.

The next Conservative prime minister will be the third in two months, and the fifth since 2016.