The battle for the succession of Jeremy Corbyn

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• The opposition.The 'corbynmania' is young

Friday and 13. One day after the general election, if Boris Johnson achieves his long-awaited majority, the race for the succession of Jeremy Corbyn in the Labor Party will remain open. If his comeback in 2017 was an oxygen balloon, a second defeat within two years may be his farewell. At 70, after almost five years as leader of the opposition, Corbyn can finally ask for retirement and blame Brexit.

Or rather to his warm position against Brexit, questioned by 56% of his party members, who suspect that their leader is actually a secret brexitero (and remember how in 1975 he already voted against belonging to the Common Market). During the 2019 campaign, Corbyn has curled the curl even more by announcing his "neutrality" in a hypothetical second referendum he would call if he reaches prime minister.

His resistance to turning Labor into the party of permanence caused the resignation of his number two, the moderate Tom Watson, at the start of the campaign. His spokesman for Brexit Keir Starmer and his Foreign spokesman Emily Thornberry - also supporters of the "remain" and favorites for succession - have been virtually invisible in these elections, as if they smelled the cake.

Corbyn has been left alone in the face of danger, occasionally assisted by his pupil Rebecca Long-Bailey, another one who plays in the pools after taking his place in a recent television debate. The Labor leader has been surrounded, yes, by the well-oiled machinery of Momentum, the current of activists of the hard left that took him against all odds until the Labor leadership in 2015 and supported him in the toughest moments, such as frustrated 'coup' of their own parliamentarians a year short of being elected.

The controversial Labor leader overcame the anxiety and took it out a year later, when he stepped on Theresa May's heels with her popular leftist manifesto and managed to avoid the absolute majority of the conservatives, complicating the Brexit labyrinth he helped himself to create with its calculated ambiguity. His belated reaction to the outbreaks of anti-Semitism in the game, and the anathema launched by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis accusing him of allowing the "poison" to spread, have pierced his reputation as a leader.

The systematic campaign of harassment and demolition of the British tabloids has done the rest: Jeremy Corbyn is today more unpopular than his predecessor and also radical Michael Foot once was: 61% of Britons have a negative view of he, compared to only 21% who have a positive vision. As a counterpoint, the Labor leader has tripled the number of party affiliates (more than half a million) and still has a special pull with the 'millennials', as demonstrated in his legendary appearance in Glastonbury, chanted to the cries of "Oh, Jeremy Corbyn. "

But the 'corbynmanía' has remitted this time, although its strong point is precisely the campaigns. Two years ago he managed to cut the distances that seemed insurmountable to just over two points above the finish line. This time it remains to be seen if the comeback will last until 12-D or if Boris Johnson will finally be able to leave him in evidence at the moment of truth, and demonstrate the topic that Corbyn is "ineligible" as prime minister.

His followers define him as an honest, empathic and positive leader. His detractors question his competence, his character and his strength. Despite the popularity of some of his proposals (such as the renationalisation of the railways), most Britons perceive him as a radical and extreme leader , perhaps paving the way for a more moderate successor.

The aspirants

Keir Starmer The Brexit spokesman, born in South London 57 years ago, was chosen as the favorite to the succession by 68% of the militants in June of this year. With a prestige gained as a lawyer, specialized in human rights (which earned him a distinction as Sir), his leap to politics was rather late, coinciding with the arrival at Corbyn's leadership in 2015. Defender of permanence, pressed to its leader to include the call for a new EU referendum in the electoral program. Frustrated however by Corbyn's decision to leave Brexit in the background, he has decided to keep a low profile during the campaign.

Emily Thornberry The 'shadow' secretary of Foreign Affairs of Corbyn, so enthusiastic in the 2017 campaign, has also decided to stay in expectation. Thornberry has been seen even more than Starmer in demonstrations in favor of a second referendum (with a visible necklace of European stars in Brighton). The 59-year-old tanned as a maid and waitress to pay for her studies, Thornberry has a special bond with the unions and aspires to be the first woman to lead the Labor Party.

Rebecca Long-Bailey. At 40, a native of Manchester, he stands out as a favorite to the Labor 'throne' by Corbyn himself, who decided to delegate to it in one of the campaign's television debates. His 'robotic' style did not convince excessively, but has played a very important and visible role throughout the campaign. She is also the favorite candidate of the unions (her father was a stevedore) and the closest to Momentum, who also intends to rise as an aspirant to the socialist, 'Corbynist' and very young Laura Pidcock (32 years old). The 'rebel' Jess Philips and the moderate Angela Rayner , also favorable to permanence, complete the list of possible candidates for the succession of the septuagenarian leader.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Jeremy Corbyn
• Boris johnson
• Theresa May
• Brexit

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