Rishi Sunak praises Boris Johnson's leadership as latter steps out of PM race

As the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson withdrew from the contest for the Conservative Party leadership, Britain's former chancellor Rishi Sunak complimented Johnson's leadership.

Sunak, who is anticipated to follow Liz Truss might become the first UK Prime Minister of Indian descent, stated that Johnson has guided the nation through some of the most difficult challenges. He said Boris Johnson dealt with Brexit, the launch of the COVID vaccination, and the conflict in Ukraine. 

Taking to Twitter, Rishi Sunak said, "Boris Johnson delivered Brexit and the great vaccine roll-out. He led our country through some of the toughest challenges we have ever faced, and then took on Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine.” He also said, “We will always be grateful to him for that."  

Besides this, Sunak asserted that he hopes Johnson would continue to contribute to public life at home and abroad, even though he has chosen not to run for PM again.  

The remarks of Sunak came after former British PM Johnson, on Sunday, declared that he will not compete for the Conservative Party's leadership. According to reports, Rishi Sunak, the front-runner, is now one step closer to becoming the country's first Indian-origin Prime Minister.  

Boris Johnson withdrew from the next UK PM contest

Furthermore, Johnson has claimed to have reached the necessary 100 MPs but chose to withdraw in order to preserve the unity of the Tory party. Johnson, who resigned in the month of July following the 'partygate' scandal, said in a statement that he had "cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations", but came to the conclusion that "this is simply not the right time". 

Johnson remarked, "I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds." He added, “I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.” 

In addition to this, Johnson, who had not formally declared his candidacy for the next PM’s position, has withdrawn publicly. According to the media reports, Johnson has around 59 Tory MPs, including several prominent cabinet members, who backed him publicly. However, it is now to see how the support will be split between Penny Mordaunt, who has about 23 formally declared supporters, and former chancellor Sunak, who is currently leading the nominations among Tory MPs with about 144 supports. 

Meanwhile, it is important to note that on October 20 British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation. Truss said in a statement to the media that she would continue in her role as Prime Minister until a successor was selected.    

(Image: AP/PTI)