There are only two left: pro-Brexit darling Boris Johnson will face Britain's top diplomat Jeremy Hunt to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May next month.

In the last round of voting on Thursday afternoon, the former mayor of London consolidated his wide lead, with 160 votes out of 313, followed, far behind, by Jeremy Hunt, 77 votes, who beat just one. hair the 3rd candidate, Environment Minister Michael Gove, 75 votes. A zero ballot has been counted.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Theresa May, "BoJo" said on Twitter "deeply honored to have obtained more than 50% of the vote". He had already flown over the previous rounds of the election to nominate the next leader of the Conservative Party, who will return the keys of 10 Downing Street, but also the thorny issue of Brexit, scheduled for no later than October 31.

I'm deeply honored to have more than 50 percent of the vote in the final ballot. Thank you for everyone for your support! I look forward to getting out of the UK and to my plan to deliver Brexit, unite our country, and create a brighter future for all of us. pic.twitter.com/i5D4ByurAM

Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 20, 2019

"I measure the responsibility on my shoulders: show my party how we can implement Brexit without provoking an election," responded Jeremy Hunt on Twitter.

I'm the underdog - goal in politics surprises as they did today. I do not doubt the responsibility on my shoulders - to show my party how we deliver Brexit and not an election, but also a turbo-charged economy and a country that walks tall in the world

Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) June 20, 2019

More moderate than his rival, the latter intends to renegotiate the exit agreement concluded in November with Brussels. He is willing to postpone the date of Brexit, set at 31 October at the latest, if European leaders agree to reopen negotiations. But he is also ready to leave the European Union without agreement if they refuse.

Boris Johnson wants the UK to leave the EU on October 31, renegotiated or not. And he threatens not to pay the Brexit bill - an amount estimated between 40 and 45 billion euros - if the EU does not accept better conditions for his country.

Boris Johnson plays the Brexit savior card

In the coming weeks, the finalists will travel across the country to present their program to the 160,000 members of the Conservative Party, who must decide between now and the end of July.

But the suspense seems slim: for "most of his colleagues", it is "now almost inevitable that (Boris Johnson) is the next British Prime Minister," said the Guardian.

The implementation of Brexit will be the top priority of the new Chief Executive, three years after the June 2016 referendum that saw the British vote 52% in favor of this historic divorce. Unable to do so, worn out by incessant criticism and conspiracy from her own party, Theresa May resigned June 7 as Conservative leader after three successive rejections by the withdrawal agreement it had negotiated with Brussels.

>> To read: "United Kingdom: Boris Johnson, great favorite for Downing Street"

In a country disoriented by these procrastination, Boris Johnson, 55, is playing the card of the savior of Brexit, and says he is ready to scrap to renegotiate this agreement, even though Brussels has ruled out this eventuality. During a televised debate on Tuesday evening, he repeated his desire to get his country out of the European Union by 31 October, leaving without leaving an agreement with the EU, without however committing to "guarantee" a Brexit on that date.

A skilled and charismatic politician, he enjoys the support of many activists from the Conservative Party base who see him as the right leader to put Brexit back on track. And although his repeated gaffes and his populist-themed speech annoy his peers, many now consider him a bulwark in the Brexit Party of the europhobe Nigel Farage, the big winner of the European elections in the UK, and the Labor opposition of Jeremy Corbyn.

Faced with Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt is posing as a "serious" alternative, highlighting his success as an entrepreneur and his long political career.

With AFP