( Observer Network ) On October 23 local time, former British Chancellor Sunak posted on Twitter, announcing that he would run for the head of the British Conservative Party and the next Prime Minister, becoming the second person to officially announce his candidacy after House of Commons Conservative Party leader Modot.
The British " Sun " previously revealed that Sunak had a secret meeting with former British Prime Minister Johnson last night (October 22 local time) to try to reach an agreement on "who will serve as prime minister".
Sunak Tweet Screenshot
Sunak said, "The UK is a great country, but we are facing a serious economic crisis. That's why I will run for the head and prime minister of the Conservative Party. I want to repair our economy, unite our political party, and serve our country."
He also said, "The government I lead will remain fair, professional and responsible at every level. I will work hard day and night. I hope there will be a chance to help solve our problems."
According to the arrangements of the British Conservative Party, the threshold for participating in the British Conservative Party's top election is quite high: as of October 24, at least 100 of the 357 Conservative MPs will be supported by at least 100 people to run for the election. This also means that there will be only three official candidates in this election. Statistics from
Sky News show that as of now, Sunak has received the support of 121 Conservative MPs and is the first to cross the threshold for running for the election.
Former British Exchequer Rich Sunak Photo source: Washington Post
In July this year, after Johnson, then British Prime Minister announced his resignation, several candidates targeted the Prime Minister's throne to participate in the competition. After multiple rounds of screening by Conservative MPs, Sunak and Tras finally entered the "finals circle" and jointly accepted the voting choices of all Conservative members.
Although Sunak successfully gained support from more Conservative MPs, he always took the lead. But among the 160,000 Conservative members, Tras has a higher approval rating, and she was eventually successfully elected as the leader of the party and was officially appointed as prime minister on September 6.
45 days later, Tras, who had "changed every day" in economic policies, was deeply in the crisis of governing. He finally announced his resignation on October 20 under heavy pressure, becoming the "shortest-lived" prime minister in British history.
Sunak, who has both political and business experience, did not receive an invitation from Tras to the cabinet. The British " Financial Times " pointed out that Sunak had long predicted that Tras' large-scale tax cut plan would trigger market panic, and he and his campaign also foreseen the resignation of Tras and had made preparations for several weeks. The report quoted anonymous cabinet minister as saying that Sunak was "the most popular candidate." On the other hand, British bookmakers also regard Sunak as a hot spot for the new Conservative Party leader.
However, when former Prime Minister Johnson was caught in a "scandal of sheltering subordinates", Sunak, then the Chancellor of the Chancellor, took the lead in resigning and triggered a "tide of resignation" of the government, becoming the "fuse" for Johnson's resignation - which also led to some controversy within the Conservative Party.
lawmakers and activists who support Johnson accused Sunak of putting his ambitions above the country and lacking "loyalty" to Johnson. According to the British " Guardian ", some sources said that Johnson himself is also waiting for an opportunity to "retaliate" Sunak and will block him from winning the party's first election.
The Financial Times believes that due to the firm opposition from some party members, Sunak has difficulty reunifying the now seriously divided Conservative Party, which is his biggest resistance to winning this party's first election.
It is worth mentioning that the British "Sun" revealed that Johnson and Sunak had a secret meeting last night (October 22 local time) to try to reach an agreement on "who will serve as prime minister". However, the Sun, which was the first to report on this matter, was not sure what the outcome of the negotiations between the two sides were, and only used "whether it was negotiated or not" as the title of the report. The Sunday Telegraph reported that the two sides discussed the possibility of "joint candidacy" but did not mention the final result. As of press time, Johnson has not officially announced that he will run for the election.
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