London – Britain may know as soon as today who will serve as its next prime minister — the third within two months.
After former prime minister Boris Johnson announced late Sunday that he was dropping his bid to return to power, the path was looking fairly clear for Rishi Sunak, the former finance minister who led the movement to oust Johnson over the summer.
Contenders to lead the ruling Conservative Party and the country face a deadline of 2pm local time to secure the endorsements of at least 100 of their party colleagues in Parliament (out of 357).
Sunak has already cleared that bar. The other declared candidate is House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, but it is unclear if she could meet the threshold even if most of Johnson’s backers swung behind her.
If only Sunak makes the cut, he will become the party’s new leader, to be installed as Britain’s prime minister. If there are multiple candidates, Conservative lawmakers will vote on those names today, before about 170,000 dues-paying party members pick the next prime minister in an online vote closing at 11am on Friday.
Sunak, who was born to parents of Indian descent, would be the first person of colour to be British prime minister. He has talked about how his family gave him “opportunities they could only dream of” and how Britain “gave them and millions like them a chance of a better future.”
Prime Minister Liz Truss will step down after her replacement is determined, officially becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, after she was unable to overcome the country’s poor economic headwinds, made worse by her own missteps and deep divisions within her party.
Her successor will face the same daunting landscape, facing spiralling inflation, government finances in dire straits, and an increasingly distrustful public. – Washington Post
