British government quake: These are the possible Johnson successors

Created: 07/07/2022 15:04

By: Andreas Schmid

Bye, bye Boris: British Prime Minister Johnson announces his resignation on Thursday.

© IMAGO/Martyn Wheatley / i-Images

Boris Johnson gives up, he had to give up.

He is stepping down as party leader and wants to continue as prime minister for the time being.

The list of possible successors is long.

London - Boris Johnson's political career is coming to an end.

After numerous scandals of the British Prime Minister remained without consequences, Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday.

He had no choice after several ministers pulled the ripcord and publicly urged Johnson to resign.

The 58-year-old wants to remain prime minister for the time being.

So far there is no clear favorite in the race to succeed him.

An overview of the possible candidates:

Johnson successor: Three candidates accused of financial crimes

• Rishi Sunak

  : Britain's first Hindu finance minister has long been considered the favorite to succeed Johnson.

  But questions about his considerable private fortune and tax tricks by his family have recently damaged his reputation.

  Sunak resigned as Treasury Secretary on Tuesday in protest at Johnson's leadership, fueling speculation about his own ambitions.

• Nadhim Zahawi

  : Sunak's successor as finance minister had previously made a name for himself as responsible for Britain's corona vaccination campaign.

  Before that he was Minister of Education.

  The 55-year-old came to Britain as a child as a refugee from Iraq.

  Before he went into politics, he founded the well-known opinion research institute YouGov.

  Zahawi's reputation is also overshadowed by questions about his private fortune.

• Sajid Javid

  : The former investment banker belongs to the business liberal wing of the Conservatives.

  In 2020 he resigned as finance minister in a dispute with Johnson, but was reappointed to the cabinet as health minister just over a year later.

  He had long defended Johnson but now resigned again.

  He is also criticized for alleged tax fraud.

Johnson successor: Ben Wallace as top candidate

• Ben Wallace

  : The secretary of defense has gained popularity as a result of his politics in the Ukraine war.

  In a poll of Tory members published on Thursday, he would be the top favorite in a new party leader election.

  Wallace announced that he would remain in office despite the mass resignations.

Ben Wallace, British Defense Secretary.

© Mateusz Wlodarczyk/Imago Images

Johnson successor: two women as possible prime ministers?

• Penny Mordaunt

  : In 2019 she became Britain's first female Defense Secretary, the 49-year-old is currently Secretary of State for Foreign Trade.

  In 2016 she fought for Brexit.

  The Royal Navy reservist is considered a good speaker.

  Some see her as a compromise candidate for the presidency of the divided party.

  According to a YouGov poll, she has the second best chance of becoming party leader after Wallace.

• Liz Truss

  : The Secretary of State is valued in the Conservative Party for her outspokenness and assertiveness.

  However, it has also raised questions about her judgement, for example when she called on Britons to fight in Ukraine in February.

  Critics accuse the 46-year-old of making herself vulnerable through her frankness.

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British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth "Liz" Truss.

© IMAGO/Tomas Tkacik/ ZUMA Wire

By the way: A woman as Prime Minister of Great Britain would not be a novelty.

Margaret Thatcher (1979 to 1990) and Theresa May (2016 to 2019) have held this office in the past.

Thatcher and May were also leaders of the Conservative Party.

Great Britain: Another Johnson candidate

• Jeremy Hunt

  : The former Secretary of State and Health lost in the 2019 Conservative party leadership race.

  Over the past month, Hunt has unabashedly launched a new attempt to challenge the party leader with clear criticism of the party leader.

  Under Johnson's leadership, the voters "would no longer trust us" and a defeat in the next parliamentary elections was programmed.

• Tom Tugendhat

  : The 49-year-old former army officer is a prominent MP and chairman of the influential Foreign Affairs Committee.

  He has indicated that he will stand as a candidate in the event of a change in leadership, but the camp of Johnson supporters is critical of him within the party.

  Among other things, he made a name for himself with a tough stance on China and criticism of the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The race to succeed Johnson is on.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Secretary of State Liz Truss are considered the most promising candidates for succession.

Shortly after the British political quake, however, no clear favorite in the race for the Johnson legacy emerged, which is why the list of potential successors is still long.