by Michael Holden
LONDON (Reuters) – The five remaining contenders to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and government will face off in a televised debate on Friday, the first in a series of three.
The initial list of 11 candidates was narrowed to 5 after a second round of voting on Thursday, but none has yet emerged as the obvious successor to Boris Johnson, who announced he was leaving office following a series of scandals.
While former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak came out on top in both votes, he faces stiff competition from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who has the backing of several high-profile figures , and from Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who polls show is most popular with party members who will decide the winner.
Former Equal Opportunities Minister Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat, chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, also remain in the running and hope a strong performance in the televised debates will boost their campaign.
Whoever wins will have to deal with runaway inflation and weak economic growth, as well as a lack of public confidence in politics after Boris Johnson took office.
Polls also suggest the Tories are falling far behind the opposition Labour.
“Who will be the best person to take on (Labour leader) Keir Starmer in the next general election?” Rishi Sunak supporter MP Richard Holden told Sky News.
“That’s what interests me, because I need to keep my seat in order to serve the interests of my fellow citizens.”
TWO CANDIDATES BY JULY 21
Rishi Sunak, whose decision to leave the Treasury last week helped spark a cascade of ministerial resignations bringing down Boris Johnson, remains the favorite among 358 Tory MPs.
His lead over Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt is slim, however, and the two elected officials could overtake him depending on the pick of MPs who have backed other fallen candidates.
Attorney General Suella Braverman, knocked out of the race on Thursday, threw her support behind Liz Truss, who also received support from Brexit negotiator David Frost.
According to The Times newspaper, Boris Johnson would urge defeated candidates to back “anyone but Rishi (Sunak)”.
Meanwhile, Penny Mordaunt, a lesser-known figure to the general public turned favorite of bookmakers, faces growing attacks on her background, with David Frost claiming she wasn’t tough enough on the EU, a key issue for many many conservatives.
“I think people will want the campaign to be positive,” MP Maria Miller told Sky News, who said support for her candidate, Penny Mordaunt, was growing among her colleagues and across the country.
Voting by Conservative MPs will resume on Monday after the round of three televised debates, which will take place on Friday, Saturday and Monday. The candidate with the fewest votes being eliminated each time until there are two candidates running by July 21.
The new leader of the Tories will then be chosen by the 200,000 members of the Conservative Party in the country, and his name will be announced on September 5.
(With contributions from William James; French version Kate Entringer, editing by Matthieu Protard)