‘We’re going to make a success of it’
Theresa May’s ready to tackle ‘Brexit’ as next prime minister.
A clergyman’s daughter known for her calm, common-sense demeanor has emerged from the unholy political scrum that erupted after the “Brexit” referendum, poised to become Britain’s prime minister as the one-time empire weathers financial fallout, social schism and deepening angst over its place on the world stage.
Theresa May, who since 2010 has served as Britain’s home secretary, was to assume the top job Wednesday, significantly accelerating what could have been a months-long transition of power after the country’s landmark June 23 vote to leave the European Union.
Her principal rival, relatively inexperienced junior government minister Andrea Leadsom, abruptly withdrew Monday from a two-woman contest for the leadership of the governing Conservative Party and, by extension, the prime minister’s post.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who had announced within hours of the vote’s result that he would step aside, said Monday that he planned in two days’ time to make a final parliamentary appearance. He then expects to ceremonially tender his resignation to the queen, who will formally name his successor — because that, despite all the tumult, is how these things are done.
“So we will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening,” Cameron told reporters, gesturing toward the iconic Georgian facade of 10 Downing St. in London, the government’s headquarters and prime minister’s residence.
The developments mark the latest chapter in the momentous breakup drama set in motion by the popular referendum whose result — 52% to 48% in favor of the “Leave” campaign — was an apparent shock to even the most ardent and outspoken supporters of breaking from the 28-nation EU.
Britain has been an ambivalent but crucial member of the bloc and the full repercussions of the decision to withdraw remain perilously unclear.
The vote results rattled markets worldwide. Economists have warned that implementing the split from the EU could undermine London’s status as a global financial capital and tip the country into a punishing recession. The referendum result could also fuel separatist sentiment in Scotland, which strongly supported staying in the European Union.
May, 59, who had offered low-key backing to the “Remain” camp, indicated that she would do her best to bring a sense of unity to a dramatically polarized political landscape — and offered assurances that she would not seek to defy voters’ wishes and reverse the outcome. The referendum, technically, was advisory, and it will fall to the country’s new leader to formally set the pullout mechanism in motion, though there is as yet no timetable for that.
“Brexit means Brexit, and we’re going to make a success of it,” May told backers outside Parliament.
The incoming prime minister, who is Oxford-educated but has held herself largely apart from the old-boys network of the British political world, is widely regarded as an experienced and steady hand in Cameron’s government, if not an overly charismatic figure. She has — in characteristically measured tones — often described public service as her abiding passion.
Cameron offered May his full support, as did her erstwhile rival, Leadsom.
So did leading Leave supporter Boris Johnson, the flamboyant former mayor of London who had originally been considered a front-runner to succeed Cameron as party leader and prime minister after the vote.
And so did Johnson’s onetime loyal second, Justice Minister Michael Gove, who, in what was described by the British press as an act of Shakespearean villainy, leaped unexpectedly into the race for the Conservative leadership, driving Johnson out. Gove was knocked out of the running after May and Leadsom garnered more support within the party.
Leadsom, too, seemed to find her brief turn in the spotlight a bruising experience. After the race narrowed last week to her and May, she was savaged on social media over the weekend for suggesting in an interview that motherhood made her a stronger candidate than the childless May — remarks for which she apologized.
Either she or May would have made history as only the second woman to serve as prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher’s turn at 10 Downing a generation ago as the “Iron Lady.”
May is widely perceived as not lacking in steel herself.
“She’s been around — she’s an experienced negotiator and experienced minister,” said Frances G. Burwell, a vice president and European analyst at the Atlantic Council.
Although May has said she does not plan to hold early elections, she might be tempted by ongoing disarray in the opposition Labor Party, whose beleaguered head Jeremy Corbyn now faces a formal leadership challenge at the hands of a member of Parliament named Angela Eagle.
Many observers said they expected May’s Cabinet to include a mix of Brexit backers and opponents, as she seeks to calm an overheated political atmosphere and bring a much-needed measure of stability after Britain’s biggest political and economic upheaval in decades.
“I think we’ll see her trying to build a consensus,” Burwell said. “Whether she succeeds is something else.”