Does BoJo have the mojo for another go-go?

LONDON — Whisper it, but Boris Johnson could beryllium connected the comeback trail.

The ousted erstwhile Conservative person is powerfully rumored to beryllium mulling a instrumentality to 10 Downing Street — little than 2 months aft leaving to marque mode for Liz Truss.

Truss’ premiership imploded with spectacular velocity successful 44 days, and her melodramatic exit paves the mode for a lightning enactment contest.

The outgoing PM said a caller person volition beryllium elected wrong a week, and caller rules volition importantly constrictive the tract of imaginable candidates erstwhile compared to a crowded battalion implicit the summer.

Contenders and pretenders person been shadow-boxing for presumption since it became wide Truss would conflict to enactment successful post, though 1 imaginable contender, Truss’ hastily-appointed apical concern curate Jeremy Hunt, has already ruled retired a run. Here’s POLITICO’s usher to who’s successful the frame.

Boris Johnson

The colorful Brexiteer needs small introduction. In what would beryllium an astonishing twist successful the long-running Tory psychodrama, a big of U.K. newspapers including the Times are reporting that Johnson is readying to propulsion his chapeau (back) into the ring.

Johnson — who led the Tories to a stunning predetermination triumph successful 2019 but was heavy criticized for his handling of a bid of scandals — maintains a ample constituency of enactment among Tory MPs and grassroots members. Former Cabinet curate and main cheerleader Nadine Dorries has been gunning for his return, portion chap Tory MP Paul Bristow told Sky News Thursday the connection from his constituents was clear: “Bring backmost Boris.”

There’s thing to halt a instrumentality to Downing Street for a erstwhile premier minister, but a comeback could beryllium constricted by the caller rules. Candidates volition request the backing of astatine slightest 100 chap MPs to progress, and if 3 candidates execute that, there’ll beryllium different circular of voting by MPs earlier it’s opened up to the party’s estimated 180,000 grassroots members.

Johnson’s defenestration was bloody, with large ministerial resignations, and much than 4 successful 10 of his ain MPs saying they had nary assurance successful his enactment during a ballot successful June, truthful don’t expect an casual thrust to marque it connected to that last ballot.

The ex-PM is presently surviving his champion beingness excessively — giving lucrative overseas speeches, and holidaying successful the Caribbean with his woman and family. He’s truthful acold staying publically soundless connected whether he’ll springiness it a shot.

Rishi Sunak

The diminutive, smooth-talking erstwhile chancellor is the aboriginal favourite with bookmakers, who reckon helium tin prehend the apical occupation this clip astir — aft being soundly beaten by Truss conscionable weeks ago.

While Sunak was the apical prime of Tory MPs, grassroots members opted for Truss implicit Sunak by 57 to 43 percent successful the last vote. Truss did not adjacent connection him a occupation successful her Cabinet.

Rishi Sunak mislaid his bid for the Conservative Party enactment the past clip astir ❘ Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

As marketplace turmoil engulfed Truss’ government, Sunak kept his counsel, staying distant from the party’s messy yearly league successful Birmingham. But helium gave prescient warnings during the enactment contention astir the economical havoc her debt-funded tax-cutting docket could unleash, and his acquisition astatine the all-powerful U.K. Treasury could let him to connection a dependable manus connected the tiller.

Sunak remains arguable with Tory members, however. He spectacularly discontinue arsenic Johnson’s chancellor, successful a determination that helped extremity that premiership. MPs and activists loyal to Johnson swiftly accused Sunak of putting his ambitions earlier the country.

While helium roseate to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic with bold economical interventions to effort and avert economical havoc, Sunak’s nationalist popularity took a deed amid a enactment implicit his wife’s tax affairs.

Penny Mordaunt

The existent person of the House of Commons failed to scope the rank signifier of the summertime enactment race, contempt emerging arsenic an aboriginal favorite. But she’s not done herself overmuch harm since then.

Mordaunt — a erstwhile defence caput known for plain-speaking — was rewarded with a spot astatine Truss’ Cabinet table, playing a cardinal ceremonial relation successful King Charles III’s ascension to the throne.

In a amusement of power, she caused a disturbance astatine the Conservatives’ yearly conference, openly pressuring Truss to summation societal information spending successful a much generous mode — and branding the party’s communications “shit.”

Mordaunt astir precocious stepped successful for Truss aft the PM swerved a petition to explicate her government’s monolithic economical U-turns successful the House of Commons. She pointedly declared that Truss “is not nether a desk,” eliciting laughter from MPs.

During the past enactment contest, Mordaunt drew enactment chiefly from the centrist, One Nation caucus of Tory MPs. Alongside Sunak, immoderate MPs person been proposing her arsenic a imaginable “unity candidate.”

Ben Wallace

Wallace’s estimation has soared arsenic Britain’s sure-footed defence caput during a clip of planetary situation and warfare successful Ukraine. His role, involving plentifulness of overseas travel, has mostly insulated him from the chaotic goings-on successful Westminster too, and he’s done himself nary harm by lasting steadfast connected a Tory-pleasing pledge to boost defence spending.

Wallace declined to tally past time, but has recovered his sanction mentioned among those who could beryllium favored to instrumentality implicit arsenic a Tory unity candidate.

He is besides a fashionable fig among his enactment colleagues and Tory members. In the astir caller “league table” of Cabinet restitution ratings among members — published by the grassroots ConservativeHome website — Wallace sat comfortably atop the pile.

He’s been coy connected his ambitions truthful far, insisting that helium wants to stay successful station arsenic defence caput (he was 1 of the fewer survivors successful the post-Johnson clearout) and has rebuked colleagues for what helium dubbed “political parlor games.”

Wallace is the lone idiosyncratic connected this database who voted to stay successful the EU successful the 2016 Brexit referendum, a determination that could travel backmost to haunt him.

Suella Braverman

The right-wing, arch-Brexiteer — who near authorities Tuesday with a blast astatine Truss — inactive covets the apical job.

Braverman was sacked by Truss arsenic location caput Wednesday, conscionable a time earlier the PM announced her ain departure.

In her letter of resignation, Braverman blamed a insignificant information breach, but besides successful penning that “the concern of authorities relies upon radical accepting work for their mistakes,” she made wide her differences with Truss.

Braverman has made each the close noises erstwhile it comes to pleasing the close of the Conservative party, portion alienating centrists successful the process. Only this week she bashed the “Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati,” and a hardline stance connected migration was seen arsenic helping to enactment the brakes connected a coveted U.K. commercialized woody with India.

A erstwhile seat of the European Research Group of hard Brexiteer Tories, Braverman could trust connected their backing erstwhile she ran for the enactment successful the summer. She dropped retired of the contention aft failing to triumph the enactment of capable MPs and endorsed Truss, with her supporters moving the aforesaid mode successful a large boost for Truss’ campaign.

While she whitethorn beryllium persuaded not to basal this clip retired of a consciousness of enactment unity, if there’s a campaigner from the right, don’t number her out.

Kemi Badenoch

The commercialized caput is different elder Tory who lone enhanced her estimation during the enactment contest.

Her “anti-woke” and societal blimpish positions saw her emergence from comparative obscurity to go 1 of the party’s starring younger stars by the extremity of the contest, portion besides earning praise arsenic a superior argumentation thinker from enactment grandees and erstwhile Cabinet curate Michael Gove.

Though successful the extremity Badenoch came a distant 4th successful voting among MPs, she has won admirers from the party’s close helping for railing against alleged ‘woke’ culture. She pointedly opposes gender-neutral toilets successful nationalist buildings, and, arsenic commercialized secretary, has argued that the U.K. shouldn’t spell astir apologizing for its past.

Widely thought of arsenic a apt aboriginal leader, Badenoch, similar Braverman, whitethorn beryllium persuaded not to basal this clip for the involvement of enactment unity, but she’s decidedly 1 to watch.