(Bloomberg Opinion) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was nothing if not tenacious. In recent weeks, he's shrugged off a relentless series of setbacks and embarrassments — almost all of his own making. This week the latest induced two of his most senior ministers to resign, prompting a cascade of further departures and a surge of new demands from Conservative MPs calling on Johnson to stand down. The pressure finally worked: On Thursday, Johnson announced his resignation.
A leadership contest will follow. The tasks awaiting Johnson's successor are unenviable. Britain faces serious and mounting challenges on the economy, Europe, public services and industrial relations. As rarely before, the country needs a strong and competent leader with the ability to command confidence.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, both highly capable members of the cabinet hitherto seen as Johnson loyalists, brought on their leader's political demise by quitting the government on Tuesday. Johnson had again been caught out in a lie, saying he was unaware of earlier accusations against a party officer removed for misconduct when, in fact, he'd been briefed on the matter.
The ministers' resignation letters delivered stinging rebukes of the prime minister, going far beyond dismay at this latest dissembling. Sunak said that the “public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. … I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.” Javid said: “I can no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government. I am instinctively a team player but the British people also rightly expect integrity from their government.”
In a statement to the Commons on Wednesday, Javid called on other cabinet members to follow his and Sunak's example. By the evening, enough of them had decided to do so. The fact is, Johnson had become a liability. Once, he was widely liked and a formidable winner of the popular vote. In 2019, he led the Tories to a remarkable general-election victory. But a succession of scandals and a sometimes bewildering mixture of inattention, impropriety and poor judgment squandered these gains.
This week, for the first time, most of those who voted Conservative in 2019 wanted the prime minister to resign. The Tories recently saw their party go down to humiliating defeats in two by-elections, and their electoral prospects looked dimmer by the day. For Tories in Parliament, forcing Johnson out was a belated act of self-preservation.
Choosing their new leader won't be easy and could further divide the party, just as its bitter debate over Brexit did. Sunak, the former chancellor, has been at odds with the prime minister over economic policy, urging a faster resumption of fiscal discipline to help cope with high inflation. Yet many other Tories agree with Johnson that higher public spending and lower taxes are needed to cushion the recent blow to living standards. Under Johnson, the government had no clear policy on Europe, except to flirt with a possible trade war that the UK cannot hope to win. And a summer of industrial strife is in prospect, as workers fight to restore their real wages.
Building consensus on these questions within the Tory party, let alone in the country as a whole, will severely test the next occupant of 10 Downing Street. Almost the only idea commanding wide support at the moment is that Johnson was no longer up to the job. That's a start, but by itself won't get the country very far.
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