The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, trapped in the party scandal in Downing Street amid a pandemic, is now sitting in a creaking chair and the names of his possible successors are already being heard.
Risi Sunak
The Minister of Finance, the first Hindu to ever assume this position, is considered the big favorite. With just five years of political experience, the 41-year-old Brexit supporter became finance minister in 2020, at a critical time in the midst of the pandemic. He took bold steps to maintain the jobs threatened by the lockdowns. His always impeccable style and serious political rhetoric make him the opposite of Johnson, with his jumbled hair and deliberately provocative statements.
Sunak is married to the daughter of an Indian millionaire. His grandparents immigrated to Britain in the 1960s. He worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and then as a clerk in a for-profit fund and built a personal fortune before becoming an MP in 2015.
Liz Trace
The other big favorite is Foreign Minister Liz Trass. Her straightforwardness and willingness to get involved in “cultural” wars have made her very popular on the Conservative party’s electoral base. The 46-year-old Tras took over the Foreign Office in recognition of the good work she did at the Ministry of International Trade. From that position, the proponent of free trade, who had voted in favor of Britain remaining in the EU but then changed camp, reached a number of post-Brexit trade agreements.
Michael Gove
The 56-year-old former journalist was one of the driving forces behind Brexit. Since September he has been Minister of Housing and Communities, responsible for implementing Johnson’s plan to upgrade the UK’s poorest areas.
Gove had already twice claimed the leadership of the Conservative Party, in 2016 and 2019, occupying third place.
Jeremy Hunt
Former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt, 55, was defeated by Johnson in the 2019 Conservative leadership election, where he advocated a “serious” alternative.
Hunt, a fellow student of Johnson and David Cameron in Oxford, taught English in Japan and spoke fluent Japanese. He is chairman of the parliamentary committee on health. Promotes the image of a “nice friend” but many consider him lacking in “charisma”.
Sajid Javid
The health minister, the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver, took over as finance minister in the Johnson government but resigned in 2020.
He is said to have shaken hands with Margaret Thatcher when he was young.
Javid, 52, voted in 2016 in favor of the UK staying in the EU because of the economic benefits of the relationship, but then voted in favor of Brexit.
Priti Patel
Home Secretary Priti Patel, 49, is the most conservative of all government ministers on social issues. He strongly supported Brexit and voted against the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Patel was born in London and her parents are from Uganda and India. It adopted a hard line on immigration but, despite its promises, the number of migrants arriving across the Channel increased.
Prior to politics, she was in charge of public relations.
Dominic Raab
Justice Minister Dominique Raab, 47, temporarily took over as prime minister in the spring of 2020, when Johnson was in intensive care with Covid-19. He is a former lawyer, has a black belt in karate and was considered a reliable ally in the midst of crises, because he follows a realistic approach to things, without flattery. But that image was tarnished when, as foreign minister, he resumed his vacation in August 2021, at a time when Kabul was falling to the Taliban. That was the reason, according to some, that in next month’s reshuffle, Johnson removed him from the Foreign Office.
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