Who can take over the presidency of the British government to succeed Johnson?
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation from the leadership of the Conservative Party after a series of resignations within his government.
The following are the personalities who could take over as his successor:
Ben Wallace
, the 52-year-old defense minister, is more popular than ever in the midst of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Although he has denied any interest in leading the Conservative Party, he is seen within the party's ranks as an outspoken and competent figure.
An opinion poll conducted by YouGov among members of the Conservative Party and the results of which were published Thursday, revealed that Ben Wallace, the defense minister since 2019, would win over all his other competitors in the event of an election to choose a new Conservative leader.
"Some of us have an obligation to maintain security in this country, whoever the prime minister is. The party has a mechanism for changing leaders and I advise my colleagues to use it. Pending that, citizens will not forgive us for leaving ministries vacant," he said on Thursday.
Penny Mordaunt
, 49, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, was a key figure in the Brexit campaign in 2016 and has since worked on negotiating trade deals.
Mordaunt, who served in the reserves in the Royal Navy, is known for her oratory skills.
According to opinion polls, she has recently risen in popularity among conservatives and is considered a serious choice as prime minister.
And an opinion poll conducted by YouGov indicates that she is the second serious candidate to take over the leadership of the party, after Wallace.
- Rishi Sunak
, the first Indian finance minister to hold this position, resigned from the government on Tuesday in a surprising move.
His resignation puts him among the favorites to succeed Johnson, after his popularity waned due to his wealth and his wealthy wife's tax arrangements sparking resentment in the midst of a purchasing power crisis.
Sunak, whose grandparents emigrated from northern India to the United Kingdom in the 1960s, was an analyst at Goldman Sachs and later worked for speculative funds.
He became an MP in 2015.
The 42-year-old advocate of Brexit, Sunak took over as finance minister in 2020 but has been criticized for insufficient measures to curb price hikes.
Liz Truss
Her outspokenness and willingness to meddle in the culture wars made Secretary of State Liz Truss very popular with the Conservative Party base.
Truss, 46, was given the sensitive position as a reward for her work as Minister of International Trade.
In this position, the free trade specialist who voted to remain in the European Union before moving to the other camp struck a series of post-Brexit trade deals.
Her hardline stances on an invasion of Ukraine or her threats to break away from the European Union's deal on Northern Ireland impress some conservatives.
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