Voice of America
12 Jul 2019, 19:05 GMT+10
LONDON - Outgoing British Prime Minster Theresa May has leveled a thinly disguised swipe at Conservative Party front-runner Boris Johnson as she underscored the necessity of character in taking on the country's top post.
May told the Daily Mail in an interview published Friday that the job of prime minister is not about power but about public service. Though she didn't mention Johnson by name, he has made a career out of being the biggest personality in the room.
``All too often, those who see it as a position of power see it as about themselves and not about the people they are serving,'' she said. ``There is a real difference.''
May stepped down from being Conservative Party leader after her failure to get Parliament to approve a plan for Britain's departure from the European Union. Johnson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt are in a runoff for that post, which will also make the winner Britain's next prime minister. The runoff vote will be announced July 23.
May underscored she had done all she possibly could to try to get her Brexit deal approved and did nothing to conceal her frustration with the fact that some of her most strident opponents on Brexit are those now backing Johnson.
She added it's unlikely that her successor will negotiate further Brexit concessions from the EU.
``I had assumed mistakenly that the tough bit of the negotiation was with the EU, that Parliament would accept the vote of the British people and just want to get it done, that people who'd spent their lives campaigning for Brexit would vote to get us out on March 29 and May 27,'' she told the Mail. ``But they didn't.''
May, who will return to Parliament as a lawmaker, also took issue with those who chided her for becoming emotional as she announced her departure from the post.
``If a male prime minister's voice had broken up, it would have been said ``what great patriotism, they really love their country.'' But if a female prime minister does it, it is `Why is she crying?''' she said.
Get a daily dose of Kenya Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kenya Star.
More InformationExotic fruits are seen at the window of world tropical fruits in Qionghai City, south China's Hainan Province, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Li...
(250321) -- WINDHOEK, March 21, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (Front) speaks during a presidential inauguration ceremony...
(250321) -- KHARTOUM, March 21, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on March 21, 2025 shows the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan. The...
WINDHOEK, 21st March, 2025 (WAM) - On behalf of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan...
Dancers from a folk troupe perform a traditional dance in Port Sudan, eastern Sudan, Feb. 26, 2025. (Photo by Urqia Elzaki/Xinhua)KHARTOUM,...
New Delhi [India] March 21 (ANI) Legendary South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher has said that Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration is considering strict new travel restrictions for citizens of dozens of countries, according...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government has placed more than 1,300 Voice of America (VOA) employees on leave and slashed funding for...
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A selection of the best press photos from Xinhua. This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace...
BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- March 22 marks World Water Day, a United Nations initiative to raise global awareness of the value of...
New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reaffirmed India's commitment to conserve water and promote...
Washington DC [US], March 22 (ANI): US President Donald Trump said that he would pay the astronauts for their overtime stay in space...