Sunak is emerging as the main favorite to succeed Truss after the support of the ‘Tory’ leaders

The first signs that he might have been hasty came on the plane that was bringing Johnson back to Gatwick airport. In the cabin, as revealed by Sky News, Johnson was booed by several passengers, who did not forgive him for the image of the United Kingdom that he gave during his tenure. Boris Johnson, recently landed from the Dominican Republic EP already on land, followed these negative signals. The first thing Johnson did was meet with his opponents. Her meeting with the parliamentary leader of the ‘tories’, Penny Mordaunt (the first to run to lead the party), was unsuccessful: he was unable to convince her to support him. He also tried an understanding with his main rival, his former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, but he did not achieve anything on that side either: despite the desire of some ‘Tories’, a possible joint candidacy was not going to come. The supports The negative signals passed from the meeting rooms to the televisions. Throughout Sunday some ‘Tory’ leaders have paraded through the sets, and all in the same direction: it is Sunak’s time, not Johnson’s. Words spoken even by former loyalists of the former premier, from Steve Baker, minister for Northern Ireland, through former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, and ending with Lord Marland, a friend of Johnson. “It’s too early” for him to return to 10 Downing Street, he said. But Johnson’s supporters repeat the mantra that – despite the scandals – he remains highly popular. They remember that his victory in 2019 was overwhelming. The endorsements The numbers don’t work out for Johnson either. He has not even achieved the minimum of 100 endorsements from deputies to be able to present his candidacy to the party’s primaries (neither is Mordaunt, who is very far away), while Sunak already has 146, according to data from the BBC. There are 357 Conservative MPs. It is true that he has until this Monday at 3 in the afternoon (Spanish time), but given the negative signs of the last few hours, Johnson is not going to have an easy time. If he doesn’t make it, there will be no primaries: Sunak will automatically be the winner. Johnson and Sunak, candidates to replace TrussDan KitwoodThe time for Sunak Things are looking up for Johnson’s former finance minister, who has already warned that Liz Truss’s brutal tax cut was going to be a disaster, as was later shown. He also counts in his favor his economic management during the worst of the pandemic and having distanced himself from his former boss when Partygate began to get serious (his resignation precipitated Johnson’s downfall). Presenting his candidacy this Sunday, Sunak acknowledged that the United Kingdom is a great country but warned: “We are facing a deep economic crisis. (…) My wish is to fix the economy, unite the party and meet the expectations of our country” before promising “integrity, professionalism and responsibility at all levels of government.” To the good understanding….