Johnson withdraws; Sunak might become British Prime Minister
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London: It seems Rishi Sunak might become the next Prime Minister of Britain after ex-PM and Sunak's co-racer to the post, Boris Johnson, announced his withdrawal from the run.
He said that he had enough support to make the final ballot, and he realized that what his party, the Conservative Party, as well as his country needed at the moment was unity, Reuters reported.
When Liz Truss announced her resignation as PM, Johnson was in holiday in the Caribbean, and he flew to the station to contest for the vacant chair securing the support of 100 lawmakers. Truss became PM in September after Johnson left the seat following a set of scandals.
Johnson said that though he had gathered 102 legislators' support, he couldn't court Sunak or the third contender for PM, Penny Mordaunt, "in the national interest." He added that he has much to offer but "am afraid that this is simply not the right time," Reuters quoted him.
According to the new agency, Johnson gathered the backing of just under 60 Conservative legislators by Sunday, which was less than nearly half of the support Sunak received.
In the market, the Sterling rose more than half a cent against the dollar in early trading in Asia.
As per the rules, if a single candidate gathers the support of 100 Conservative lawmakers, he/she will be made a prime minister on Monday. If two candidates win the number, it will go for votes among party members, and the winner will be announced on Friday.
Truss was forced to quit when an economic programme launched by her triggered chaos in financial markets.