Leadership quandary with PM ailing

The British government hurtled into uncharted territory Tuesday, with its foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, taking on the day-to-day duties of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was being treated in an intensive care unit as he battled a worsening case of the coronavirus.

Britain, with no written constitution, does not have a codified order of succession. That legal gap has prompted questions during prior episodes where prime ministers fell ill or underwent surgery, and now looms large at a time when Britain faces its greatest crisis since World War II.

Raab, 46, as first secretary of

state, would become the government’s de facto leader if the prime minister could not carry out his duties. He was “deputized” by Johnson on Monday, led the government’s daily meetings about the pandemic and will probably take on additional duties, with Johnson’s prognosis so uncertain.

The government said Johnson, who has suffered symptoms of the virus for 11 days, was moved into intensive care Monday night after his condition deteriorated sharply.

He has received “standard oxygen treatment” but is breathing on his own and has not been put on a ventilator, officials said Tuesday. Nor has he been diagnosed with pneumonia, they said.

“I’m confident he will pull through, because if there’s one thing I know about this prime minister, he’s a fighter,” Raab said during a news conference.

Still, how the government will function if the prime minister is out for a prolonged period, or dies, is not yet clear.

“If he is incapacitated for quite a long time, then you’re in totally different circumstances,” said Jonathan Powell, who was the chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Blair. “In the middle of a crisis like this, in the modern world, it is quite impossible to function without a prime minister.”

The number of coronavirus deaths in the U.K. has reached 6,159, an increase of 786 over 24 hours earlier, though deaths reported Tuesday occurred over several days, The Associated Press reported.

The British government will face momentous decisions, including when and how to lift the lockdown on the U.K. Johnson, 55, had been leading that process and communicated the government’s measures to the public in daily press briefings, where his familiar shambling style gave way to a graver mien.

Raab, by contrast, has been a peripheral figure in the government’s response, mostly focusing on organizing evacuation flights to bring back Britons stranded overseas. He is best known for his hardline views on Brexit, which helped him get his post in Johnson’s pro-Brexit Cabinet.

Raab, officials said, was working from his quarters in the Foreign Office. He would chair meetings on national security, although in the case of an emergency, the Cabinet would make decisions on a collective basis.

Michael Gove, a senior Cabinet minister and longtime rival of Johnson, was the face of the government on television Tuesday morning, although he announced that he, too, was now in isolation at home after a member of his family showed mild coronavirus symptoms.

Other ministers — such as the chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, and the health secretary, Matt Hancock — have been leading key parts of the response and will have strong voices.

If Raab were to become incapacitated, officials said, Sunak would be next in line as de facto leader. As chancellor, he has gotten good reviews for rolling out gargantuan packages to rescue an economy under lockdown.

Downing Street has released few details about Johnson’s condition.

No doctor has briefed the press about the prime minister’s condition.