After eight weeks of internal elections to replace Boris Johnson at the head of the Conservative Party, the British will know this Monday if the favorite Liz Truss will be the third female prime minister, or Rishi Sunak the first non-Caucasian head of government.
The announcement of the 1922 Committee, the council of deputies that organizes the elections of presidents, will take place at 12:30 p.m. in London, but the passage of the ‘bauta’ it will only take place on Tuesday, when Johnson submits the prime minister’s resignation to Queen Elizabeth II. at Balmoral Castle, Scotland.
The trip to the north of the country, which breaks with the tradition of the audience held at Buckingham Palace in London, will slow down the transition, since the successor will also have to travel some 1,600 kilometers (round trip) between the capital and the Scottish castle. .
The long process began on July 7, when Boris Johnson announced his resignation after the resignation of 60 members of the government, instigated by a series of scandals and doubts about the leader’s integrity.
In the last 100 years, only four have been prime ministers for less time. Boris Johnson resigns after 1,079 days in office
Of the 11 interested candidates and eight who managed to obtain the necessary support to enter the race, two finalists were chosen after five rounds of voting among deputies.
The final round, conducted by postal ballot and open to only about 180,000 party members, ended Friday after a national campaign that included 12 debate rallies between Truss and Sunak, televised debates and other events.
The decision on who will govern the country of 67 million inhabitants fell on a group of less than 0.3% of the populationmade up mostly, according to an academic study, of white men over the age of 50.
An urgent response from the new head of government awaits issues such as the increase in the cost of energy bills, which is suffocating families, schools, hospitals and businesses, and inflation, which is generating social unrest.
Despite coming third in the early rounds, the chancellor became the continuity candidate, rallying support from the party’s most right-wing and pro-Brexit wing.
Liz Truss, 47, a low-tax, free-market advocate, is a seasoned politician who has held various ministerial posts over the past 10 years.
During the campaign, Truss won ranks by promising tax cuts and taking a harsh anti-union tone, earning him comparisons to Margaret Thatcher and a lead of more than 30 percentage points in some polls.
But in a country of unexpected election results, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, 42, could yet surprise and become the UK’s first non-white prime minister.
Sunak, of Indian descent, has struggled to distance himself from the image of a wealthy technocrat and traitor because he was one of the first to leave government in early July, precipitating the downfall of Boris Johnson.
Associated with the social democratic wing of the party over moves to support families and businesses during the pandemic, he also invokes Thatcher’s legacy of fiscal prudence, preferring to fight double-digit inflation over cutting taxes.
The Conservative Party has been in power for 12 years and is divided into several currents. All the polls indicate that he will lose to the Labor Party in the next parliamentary elections. which should take place no later than January 2025.
Source: Observadora
