Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his decision in a statement published on Sunday evening. With Johnson’s announcement, former finance minister Rishi Sunak is likely to become the country’s leader.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that he will not run for Conservative leader and the country’s new prime minister. In a statement released Sunday night, Johnson says he would have had the necessary support of at least one hundred Conservative MPs, but he still decided not to run.
Johnson said he was confident he could have won back his place as party leader and prime minister and the 2024 election as the Conservative leader, but said he had come to the conclusion that running for the leadership was not the right solution. According to him, a functioning administration would require a united party in the parliament.
In September, Johnson resigned from the leadership of the Conservative Party and from the post of Prime Minister, accompanied by many uproars. He was elected to the position after him Liz Truss, who again announced his resignation last Thursday. Truss served as British Prime Minister for only a month and a half.
Sunak’s chances of winning are high
The former finance minister Rishi Sun too the winning chances of being elected to the party leadership and prime minister are now very high. In addition to Sunaki, only has registered for the race Penny Mordauntwhich is clearly behind Sunak in terms of support.
Johnson said he had been in contact with Sunak and Mordaunt to reach a consensus “in the name of the national interest”, but no common ground had been found. Sunak, however, praised the achievements of Johnson’s prime ministership on Twitter, highlighting, among other things, Brexit and the corona vaccination program.
– Even though he decided to withdraw from the race for prime minister, I hope that he will continue his work in public life both at home and abroad, Sunak wrote.
Concluding his own statement, Johnson said he believes he still has a lot to give, but the time is not right.