Rishi Sunak at the gates of Downing Street after the resignation of Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson miss her ‘come back’. Chased by scandals this summer from Downing Street, the former Conservative prime minister thought he could return there through the front door at the end of October, replacing Liz Truss, who resigned after just 44 days of a disastrous term. But Johnson’s “circus” lasted only the time of the weekend, from his landing at Gatwick, Saturday, October 22 (hastily returning from vacation in Dominica, in the Caribbean, with his wife and children), the following Sunday evening, October 23, as After hours on the phone trying to persuade Conservative MPs to support him, the British politics hooligan found his popularity was not necessarily what he had thought.

“I think I am in a good position to lead the Conservatives to victory in 2024 [aux prochaines élections générales] And I can confirm tonight that I received 102 supports [d’élus conservateurs] », said Sunday evening the former leader, who wasn’t even an official candidate – he had until Monday, October 24, in the early afternoon to declare himself. But “Over the past few days, I’ve unfortunately come to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be the right thing to do. [vu] that it is impossible to govern effectively without the support of a united party in Parliament,” Mr. Johnson added. Is the MP for Uxbridge (West London) just telling the truth: does he really have the 100 signatures of elected officials required to enter the race on Downing Street?

His opponents and the media questioned that throughout the weekend. On Sunday evening, the BBC counted only 57 public support for Johnson. His main rival, Rishi Sunak, has continued to rally support, a sign of a clear dynamism. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Johnson could boast 147 public support at the end of the weekend, or already 40% of the Conservative House. If Benny Mordaunt, the third elected to the top job, withdrew from the race – on Sunday, backed by only 24 lawmakers – Mr Sunak, 42, could be appointed prime minister on Monday night.

The doubt persisted all weekend

Country “Re Boris [Ramenez-nous Boris] » Still, he’s been fairly well engaged with some solid support and encouragement in recent days – including Ben Wallace, the highly respected Secretary of Defense, who announced on Friday, October 21 “leaning against” to Mr. Johnson. The core of “Boris supporters” – Nadine Doris, his ex-culture minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, his ex-Brexit minister – also hoped to attract right-wing votes into the party.

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