LONDON (`) – Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Sunday that he would not run for the Conservative Party leadership, ending a short-lived, high-profile attempt to return to the post of prime minister, from which he died a little more ago than three months was ousted .
His departure leaves former finance chief Rishi Sunak as the strong favorite to become Britain’s next prime minister – third this year, at a time of political turmoil and severe economic challenges. He could win the competition as early as Monday.
Johnson, who was ousted in July amid ethics scandals, was widely expected to be running to succeed Liz Truss, who quit last week after her tax-cut stimulus package caused turmoil in financial markets and was quickly abandoned and their authority within government wiped out the party.
Johnson spent the weekend garnering support from fellow Conservative lawmakers after flying back from a Caribbean holiday and held talks with the other two contenders, Sunak and the leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt.
Late Sunday, he said he had garnered the support of 102 peers, more than the 100 threshold needed for a lawmakers vote on Monday.
But he was far behind Sunak, saying he had concluded that “unless you have a unified party in parliament, you cannot govern effectively”.
The prospect of Johnson’s return had thrown the already divided Conservative Party into further turmoil. He led the party to a resounding election victory in 2019, but his position as prime minister was marred by money and ethics scandals that eventually became too much for the party to bear.
In his statement on Sunday, Johnson insisted he was “well placed to secure a Conservative victory” in the next national election, due in 2024. And he said he was likely to have won a vote by Conservative Party members against one of his rivals.
“But unfortunately over the past few days I’ve come to the conclusion that that just wouldn’t be the right thing to do,” he said. “So I’m afraid the best thing is that I don’t allow my nomination and pledge my support to whoever succeeds.”
But he hinted he could be back, saying: “I think I have a lot to offer but I’m afraid this is just not the right time.”
After Truss quit on Thursday, the Conservative Party hastily ordered a contest aimed at finalizing nominations on Monday and installing a new prime minister – his third this year – within a week.
The clear favorite now is Sunak, who has the backing of more than 140 lawmakers, according to unofficial figures. Mordaunt is supported by fewer than 30.
If both participate in the vote, the 357 Conservative lawmakers will hold an indicative vote on Monday to show their preference before the vote goes to the 172,000 party members across the country. If Mordaunt does not reach 100 nominations, Sunak wins by acclamation.
Sunak, 42, was second to Truss in the Tory lead race this summer to replace Johnson. On Sunday he confirmed that he was running again at the last leadership competition.
“At every level of government I lead, there will be integrity, professionalism and accountability, and I will work day in and day out to get the job done,” Sunak said in a statement.
Johnson’s departure came just hours after allies insisted he was running. Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told the ` on Sunday he had spoken to Johnson and “he will definitely stand” after he flew back to London on Saturday from a holiday in the Dominican Republic.
But Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker, a former Johnson supporter and an influential politician within the Conservative Party, warned that a Johnson comeback would be a “guaranteed disaster”. Baker noted that Johnson is still under investigation over whether he lied to Parliament during his term in office about breaching his government’s own coronavirus restrictions during parties at Downing Street.
If found guilty, Johnson could be suspended as MP.
“This is not the time for Boris and his style,” Baker told Sky News on Sunday. “What we can’t do is have him as prime minister in circumstances where he’s bound to implode and overthrow the entire government… and we just can’t do that again.”
Truss resigned Thursday after a turbulent 45 days, admitting she could not implement her botched tax-cut economic package, which she had to abandon after it sparked anger in her party and weeks of financial turmoil.
Sunak, who was chief financial officer from 2020 until this summer, steered the slumping UK economy through the coronavirus pandemic. He resigned in July in protest at Johnson’s leadership.
In the summer contest to replace Johnson, Sunak called promises by Truss and other rivals to cut taxes immediately as ruthless “fairy tales” and argued that rising inflation must be controlled first.
Tory voters backed Truss over Sunak, but he was right when Truss’ unfunded tax cut package wreaked havoc on markets in September. Now he should be tasked with stabilizing the ailing British economy.
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