Televised debate on the Johnson succession

Lively debate from the five candidates to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday night. Sunak and Tungenhat stood out.

Only 10 days have passed since Johnson’s official resignation. And yet this period seems like a whole month. The speed with which the candidates emerged, their campaign videos, campaigning and speeches leading up to the first debate is remarkable. On Friday, the Channel 4 television network hosted the first televised match of the five hopefuls – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordant, Liz Truss, Cammy Beidenock and Tom Tungenhat – who, for a full 90 minutes, faced the audience. The leadership race continues until the two most suitable for the leadership of the Tories and the prime minister of the country until July 21 emerge.

At the heart of the confrontation is the economy

The candidates stood in the studio in front of the blue podiums while the audience participated in the questions they received. Unsurprisingly, particular emphasis was placed on the economy, as the suffocating cost of living has left many British citizens stranded. In fact, the specific issue was also the one that brought the biggest conflict, with rivals former finance minister Rishi Sunak and foreign minister Liz Truss. Sunak defended his decision in April to increase tax levies as he said it was done to fund social security and the NHS.

Liz Truss insisted the decision was “wrong”, while outlining her own future economic plan which calls for scrapping increases in insurance contributions, as well as green energy charges, by increasing government borrowing. To get a harsh response from Sunak that “‘borrowing’ the way out of inflation is not a plan, it’s a fairy tale”.

The winners of the debate

The next day, however, saw as the winner of the debate, the outsider for the Conservatives, Tom Tungenhat. The reason; Mainly because he is the only one of the candidates who did not hold a cabinet position under the Johnson leadership, which gave him a significant advantage with the public and the directness with which he can give his answers. Characteristically, he won applause when asked if “Boris Johnson was being honest”, with himself the only one to answer with a clear “no”. He himself tries to take advantage of the distance he had from the events, presenting himself as the “pure principle”.

Rishi Sunak, who is also considered the favorite, did not do badly either, as he spoke with confidence and comfort. But the second so far in the preferences of Conservative MPs, Penny Mordant, does not seem to have capitalized on the momentum. According to a poll by “Opinium” of nearly 1,200 people who watched the televised match, just 12% of respondents thought she had won, the same percentage as former Under Secretary for Equality, Cammy Bedenock.

Official Opposition Leader Sir Keir Starmer said today that in the debate “we saw the Conservatives gouge each other’s eyes out” in a truly crazy succession race that should come down to two in the next five days. Tomorrow will even see the second televised showdown on ITV, which may clear up who will be the next candidate to leave in Monday’s Conservative vote.

Zoe Katzagiannakis, London

Source: Deutsche Welle