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Conservative MP Boris Johnson (left) with British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt during a debate at the BBC on June 18, 2019. JEFF OVERS / BBC / AFP

It is now a duel Boris Johnson-Jeremy Hunt to replace Theresa May at the head of the United Kingdom. MPs in a final round on Thursday, June 20, voted for the former and current head of diplomacy, while Environment Minister Michael Gove, the other favorite, was eliminated by only two votes apart. It is now the members of the Conservative party who will decide between the two candidates by the end of July. Boris Johnson is by far the big favorite, but Jeremy Hunt has vowed to fight to the end.

With our correspondent in London, Muriel Delcroix

" I'm the underdog, but in politics there are always surprises " Jeremy Hunt, who tweeted this little sentence just after the vote, is well aware of the difficulty of winning against heavyweight Boris Johnson.

According to bookmakers, Alexander Boris of Pfeffel Johnson, said "BoJo" can already make his cards to settle at 10 Downing Street, provided of course that it avoids a new blunder in the coming weeks.

That's why his team has been protecting the candidate since the beginning of the race by forcing him to keep a low profile and limiting his contacts with the media as much as possible. But the task looks harsh as a dozen public debates are planned between the two men against the conservative activists by the end of July.

His challenger Jeremy Hunt intends to use this opportunity to highlight his better ministerial record than Boris Johnson, and present himself as the only one able to get a deal, while being ready to consider an exit without agreement on October 31st.

In reality, the plans of the two men to save Brexit are not so far apart, but Boris Johnson has two very clear advantages: he is considered the only one able to beat the Labor opposition in case of early elections, but also to breathe a burst of optimism into a conservative party deeply undermined by divisions over Europe.

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