Iran Press/ Europe: Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak announced his bid to replace Liz Truss as the next leader of the Conservative Party, putting him on track to make it to the final round of candidates in the race for prime minister.
“I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country,” he said in a Sunday tweet, according to The Washington Post.
It is the second time in less than four months that Sunak, 42, has vied for the role. Over the summer, the former UK chancellor made it to the final round in the race to succeed Boris Johnson before losing to Truss when the vote was put to party members.
Sunday’s announcement makes Sunak the first — and, so far, the only — formally declared candidate to have collected the 100 nominations from fellow lawmakers required by 2 p.m. Monday to appear on the party’s ballot, according to public tallies. If more than one candidate passes the threshold, members of Parliament will select two to be put to an online vote by party members, with the results expected Oct. 28.
As of Sunday, Sunak’s strongest challenger appeared to be Johnson, the former prime minister whose resignation this July kicked off Britain’s current bout of political chaos. In his own resignation as Johnson’s finance minister, which prompted a wave of others to quit and ultimately forced Johnson to resign, Sunak said the public deserved a government that conducted itself “properly, competently, and seriously.”
If ultimately elected, Sunak, would become the country’s first prime minister of South Asian descent. He was born in Southampton, England, to parents of Indian origin who had emigrated from East Africa.
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