U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss batted away speculation that she could run for the leadership amid a scandal over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s alleged pandemic-rule-breaking parties.
“The future of the PM is assured,” Truss said on the BBC’s "Sunday Morning" show. “He’s doing an excellent job on the things that matter — recovering the economy from COVID, getting Brexit done, getting this country going again.”
Asked if Johnson should resign if he is found to have broken the country’s ministerial code, which prohibits lying to the House of Commons, she said she wouldn’t answer “hypothetical questions.”
Truss is seen as a strong contender in any leadership election thanks to her popularity among the ruling Conservative Party’s membership. Her top rival in recent polls has been Chancellor Rishi Sunak, whose defenses of the Prime Minister have been less forthcoming.
In Sunday’s interview, Truss made a point of being present in Parliament when Johnson apologized. Sunak was absent from the House of Commons that day, instead simply tweeting later that the Prime Minister was “right to apologize.”
On Saturday, Tom Tugendhat became the first lawmaker to openly declare his intention to run in any leadership election, in an interview with Times Radio. He’s the chair of the lawmaker panel which scrutinizes foreign policy.
