LONDON – UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss yesterday joined the race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister and leader of the ruling Conservative party, as the fractious contest focused on tax.
Truss, 46, announced her candidacy in the Daily Telegraph newspaper yesterday evening, saying she had “a clear vision of where we need to be, and the experience and resolve to get us there”.
The bid by Truss, seen as a frontrunner in the Tory leadership contest, followed that of former defence minister Penny Mordaunt as the race expanded to 11 candidates.
Mordaunt, 49, an ex-navy reservist who has also held several senior ministerial roles, is not among the favourites to succeed Johnson in recent polls of Tory party members ultimately set to choose their new leader.
But such contests are notoriously unpredictable, and with more than a dozen lawmakers from multiple factions of the ruling party potentially set to run, political commentators say few contenders can be discounted.
The early favourite is former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who launched his campaign Friday after helping to kickstart the cabinet revolt that led to Johnson’s forced resignation Thursday. He is now drawing early fire from Johnson loyalists and rival candidates.
Sunak and former health minister Sajid Javid – who has also declared his candidacy – both resigned late Tuesday, prompting dozens of more junior colleagues to follow suit.
That forced Johnson to then quit as Tory leader 36 hours later.
But the 58-year-old leader, whose three-year premiership has been defined by scandal, the country’s departure from the European Union, and the Covid-19 pandemic, said he would stay on until his successor is selected. AFP, July 11, 2022
