Boris Johnson is an unusual, atypical Conservative prime minister in so many ways. His fall from grace was long predicted. His foibles and weaknesses were always bound to catch up with him. He needed dozens of wardrobes for all his skeletons. Yet, unlike his peers, he had certain qualities his potential successors are struggling to demonstrate. Johnson had that X-factor, an ability to reach out beyond the typical Tory base. Winning two mayoral terms in a left-leaning London and a stunning victory in the 2019 general election highlighted this broad appeal. His weaknesses — the lack of honesty and chaotic governance — were airbrushed over, only to be fully exposed during the COVID-19 crisis. Now that he is standing down, the challenge for the Conservative Party is to find a successor who has that star box office quality but combines it with integrity and effectiveness. A total of 11 started out in the tussle to replace him, with many others having seriously considered joining the race. Not one of them has his presence and charisma, albeit they all have far less baggage. The size of the field highlighted the lack of a clear-cut successor and how, for the most part, the choice was between a group of unknown quantities. It is a challenging test. The successful candidate has to appeal to two differing electorates. The first stage, due for completion at some point this week, will see Conservative MPs narrow the field down to a final two, who will then spend the summer appealing to the broader party membership of about 180,000. The former tend to know the candidates well and are not typically as right wing as the membership. By Sept. 5, a successor to Johnson should be chosen. The front-runner among Conservative MPs is the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak. He looks certain to make it to the final two. However, his resignation was key to Johnson being forced to step down; something a large segment of the party will not forgive him for. He was seen as plotting for some time against the prime minister. He has the awkward juggling act of being against Johnson, but at the same time, barring the last few weeks, being at the center of all that went wrong. After Sunak, it is a tussle. As the candidates are largely unknown quantities to the Conservative membership, as well as the broader electorate, opinion polls at this stage may be deceiving. The series of hustings and media interviews will be crucial as members weigh up these unknowns. The fascinating part of this campaign is that it shines a light on the key issues of concern to Conservative England. Yes, the Conservative Party barely exists in Scotland anymore. The main debate will be in the largest segment of the UK. Not one of the Conservative Party leadership candidates has Johnson’s presence and charisma, albeit they all have far less baggage. Chris Doyle The candidates have to determine what matters most to this electorate. With an economic crisis and massive inflation, with fuel and food prices rocketing, the economy should be the major issue. Most of the candidates are promising huge tax cuts to promote growth and are vowing to slash civil service numbers to cut waste. Sunak is the outlier here. He only backs responsible tax cuts when Britain can afford them and accused other candidates of indulging in “fairy tales,” with uncosted pledges of tax giveaways that risk further inflation. Lurking in the background are all the cultural issues that have polarized politics, not just in Britain but in the US and elsewhere. Debates over gender, sexuality and identity remain divisive. Immigration genuinely matters, but here all the candidates maintain a hard-line approach, with not one proposing to roll back the scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Brexit also remains an issue. Far-right MPs are desperate to ensure a true star of the Brexiteer firmament will get into the last two. All have used starkly pro-Brexit soundbites. On the broader international stage, most of the candidates are inexperienced and untested, but whoever wins is unlikely to change a huge amount, not least as Britain has barely had a foreign policy in recent years, save to push for post-Brexit free trade deals. On Ukraine, all the candidates largely agree, so it is unlikely that Britain will pull back from its hawkish line against Russia under a new leader. None of them would sit down with President Vladimir Putin in the current circumstances. Meanwhile, the Labour Party leadership is not so quietly enjoying the governing party tearing itself apart. Firstly, the electorally successful Johnson will go. Labour can trade on all the resignation letters of ministers and others who tore into his credibility and performance. Secondly, the whole leadership campaign has been toxic, with plenty of backstabbing between the candidates. For example, one unnamed Tory MP said of former Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt: “All she has to offer is lipstick and blonde hair — but no backbone or brains.” The Tory party looks to be in a shambles and is bitterly fractured along many lines. The serious backdrop to all these electoral and political shenanigans is the multiple crises the UK faces, alongside other countries. Economic challenges need attention now. The Ukraine crisis brings with it all sorts of negative impacts. COVID-19 is far from finished. This is the time for strong, decisive and united governance. However, that looks a long way off for now. Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. Twitter: @Doylech