Incumbent Prime Minister Johnson is also seen as an opponent: those around him have accused the former Chancellor of the Exchequer of betraying the Prime Minister by instigating Johnson’s ouster with his resignation. Sunak rejects this. The result of a poll carried out on Tuesday by the Yougov polling institute among members of the Tory party also brought him bad news. Consequently, he should lose in the second round.

Truss, 46, is considered the favorite of the conservative base. In the Johnson government, she was foreign trade secretary for two years before the staunch Brexiteer was appointed foreign secretary. Since last year she has also represented British positions as chief negotiator in Brussels at the EU.

Truss carefully cultivates her public image: last year she had herself photographed in a tank, reminiscent of a well-known photo of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Shortly before Johnson’s resignation, she promised him her full support. Shortly after, she stated that Johnson made the right decision in leaving.

In the early rounds of the election, Truss always came in third place, behind former Secretary of Defense and Foreign Aid Mordaunt, who had long been considered the favorite of the party base. She had made a name for herself as a vehement supporter of Brexit. Nonetheless, Mordaunt was a thorn in the side of far-right Conservatives, who accused her of having too liberal views on gender issues and a lack of cabinet experience.

As the sole remaining representative of the right, Truss, 46, was apparently able to convince many MPs who had previously voted for former Secretary of State Kemi Badenoch, who was also a right-wing Conservative.

Now the members of the party have the floor. However, it is unclear how many there are at this time. In the previous party leader election in 2019, when Boris Johnson prevailed, there were around 160,000 members. At the beginning of next week, the BBC wants to broadcast a television duel between the last two candidates, to which the applicants have already agreed.