Less than two weeks after the most dramatic political event in UK’s recent history, the leadership race of the Conservative Party was won by Theresa May who declared that she will forge ahead with plans to leave the European Union. Andrea Leadsom’s bombshell decision to stand down as a contender for the leadership of the Conservative Party paved the way for her colleague Theresa May to be crowned Britain’s Prime Minister with immediate effect. Ms Leadsom knew that the support for her own candidacy began to drain away, so she opted to stay out of the race or face defeat. 

One can never cease to wonder at the quaint ways of the Conservative establishment. The Conservative Party at Westminster, same as the Malta Labour Party, has long had a reputation for ruthlessness, as was seen by the spectacular removal of Margaret Thatcher in 1990, and in Malta with the abrupt removal of Deputy Leader Anglu Farrugia on the eve of the 2013 election!  The treatment of Thatcher, Anglu Farrugia and that of Boris Johnson was brutal, no more and no less. There had been rumours circulating before the British Referendum of a ‘stop Boris’ as a candidate to be the next UK prime Minister but no one suspected that Mr Gove (another contender in the race would be behind this plot.

The most prominent pretenders to the Conservative crown besides Stephen Crabb, Michael Gove and Liam Fox, were Home Secretary Theresa May and Ms Andrea Leadsom. Critics say that Ms May is a tough negotiator that Britain needs, a negotiator who can get solid results, who can get Britain a good, fresh deal from the EU. She is said to the driving force behind Britain’s entire relationship with the European Union.

What can one say? May the new Prime Minister of Britain be as good a Prime Minister as Margaret Thatcher was, for the good of Britain and the entire European community.

Jos Edmond Zarb

Birkirkara