Succession to Boris Johnson – In England, there is a fight between Truss and Sunak

The Conservative Party has chosen its finalists in the race to succeed Boris Johnson. Rishi Sunak got 137 votes and Liz Truss got 113 votes ahead of Benny Mordant who got 105 votes. The members then decide on a run-off basis. The results of the second phase of the election will be announced on September 5. Then the new party leader moves to the seat of government in Downing Street and takes over government business from Johnson. But a win should briefly cover the problems that come with “Number 10”.

After all, the pressure of skyrocketing inflation is enormous. At 9.4 percent, the inflation rate is at its highest level in 40 years, and another significant increase in heating costs is expected in the fall. The future cabinet will not have time to familiarize itself, especially since no decisions have been made now. Amid a cost-of-living crisis, Britain is being run by a “zombie government”, Labour’s opposition leader Angela Rayner has lamented.

The party’s worries are even heavier. Many members still see the populist role of Johnson as the only politician who can lead the Tories to electoral victories. In a petition, more than 2,000 members criticized the division for making a mistake when it saw Johnson elected only by the base in 2019. Demand: 58-year-olds should also be included in the ballot paper. It excludes party rules. But who are the two possible candidates to succeed Johnson?

Rishi Sunak: The minister who defeated Johnson

Rishi Sunak, 42, was the candidate who thought he had the best chance from the start. He had been Boris Johnson’s finance minister since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – until his resignation last week, signaling an anti-Johnson uprising.

During the lockdown, Sunak made a name for himself by quickly establishing financial support mechanisms for affected citizens and companies. However, with all lockdown restrictions ending this spring, he has moved to rapidly reduce government debt with the help of higher taxes. That earned him a lot of sympathy from a population that has to shoulder the tax burden while also struggling with a record increase in the cost of living this summer. Poor Britons in particular accuse the super-rich minister of not understanding their often desperate situation and generally unwilling to help.

The “natural heir” Johnson found himself at the end of his political career when reporters this year exposed the questionable tax avoidance tactics of his wife – an Indian billionaire heiress. He was accused of keeping his options open to immigrate to the United States with a green card while he was already a member of the government in London.

Unlike Liz Truss, Sunak doesn’t want to promise immediate tax cuts, but instead wants to wait until the rate of inflation drops first. He says he doesn’t mind the “fairy tales” of others. In this way Sunak hopes to convince the Conservative Party of his “ritual qualities”. But of course he knows that many of his partisans are calling for tax cuts — and that if there’s an economic downturn, he’ll be responsible.

Sunak has a problem with some Tories seeing him as a “traitor” to Johnson – who has long planned to step up. And not to upset Johnson fans, he praised his former boss as a “remarkable person” with “a good heart”. But the conservative London Times found that many Tory members have limited sympathy for Sunak: “They don’t like him.”

So far, Sunak has not spoken much about environmental issues. On the other hand, he wants to continue Johnson’s hard Brexit, and refugees coming to the UK “illegally” should be sent to Rwanda if he has his way. His opponent in the final held similar views on these points.

Liz Truss: She wants to remember Margaret Thatcher

The Minister of External Affairs is one of the most recognizable faces in the government. The 46-year-old, always known as Liz, is very popular with the party base. Along with her political views and her public image, the former environment, justice and trade minister likes to remember former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. But critics accuse the less charismatic minister of having little idea of ​​content and relying on self-portraiture through reproduced Thatcher photographs. His team is said to have had the most violent attacks in the race after Johnson’s. Prominent Mordant supporter David Davies called it “the worst campaign I’ve ever seen”.

A mother of two, she has held many positions in recent times. She is not only the Minister of External Affairs, but also the Minister of Women and Equality. In December, he took on another completely unimportant job: as successor to Brexit chief negotiator David Frost, he was responsible for relations with the EU in “Task Force Europe”.

When he announced his candidacy in the British Telegraph, he promised to cut taxes from day one as prime minister. She brings a wealth of experience with her, not just because of her many current positions: she has held cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

There was a time when Truss argued that Britain should remain in the EU. That was a few years ago and she had long known that it was not very profitable for a conservative politician to still cling to the idea of ​​Remain. He now wants to talk about the many opportunities presented by Brexit.

The issue of leaving the EU has always been a domestic political tool for the Tories. It can boost a candidacy, but it can also destroy it. More recently, he has benefited from aggressively enforcing sanctions against Russia and Russian oligarchs over its aggression in Ukraine.

Truss is seen as a proponent of radical economic liberalism and is uncomfortable dealing with Brussels. But in the meantime, it remains unclear how big the domestic political gain of foreign policy conflicts with the EU is. Supply and personnel shortages in the kingdom could hurt Johnson’s position in the finals.

As the only remaining representative of the right, Truss, 46, managed to convince many MPs who had previously voted for former secretary of state Kemi Patenock, a right-wing conservative.

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