Contesting out of conviction not ambition, says Gove

Britain’s race to choose a new premier to take the Brexit negotiations forward with the European Union brought in fresh drama on Friday with Justice Minister Michael Gove saying his bid to become the prime minister is driven by ‘conviction’ about what is right for the United Kingdom not personal ambition.

Gove, who had surprised political circles with his decision to stand for the Conservative party leadership instead of backing fellow Brexit champion Boris Johnson, laid out his case to be premier despite not being glamorous enough.

“I never thought I’d ever be in this position. I did not want it, indeed I did almost everything not be a candidate for the leadership of this party. I was so very reluctant because I know my limitations. Whatever charisma is I don’t have it; whatever glamour may be I don’t think anyone could ever associate me with it,” he told reporters on Friday.

“But, at every step in my political life, I’ve asked myself one question: What is the right thing to do? I had to stand up for my convictions. I had to stand up for a different course for this country. I had to stand for the leadership of this party,” he said.

Asked if it was political calculation that led him to backtrack on supporting the former London mayor Johnson’s candidacy, referred to in the British media as ‘backstabbing’ his close political ally, Gove added: “I am standing not as a result of calculation but because I have burning desire to transform this country.

“I came to realise this week that, for all Boris’ formidable talents, he was not the right person for the task.”

The 48-year-old author and former Times columnist now goes head-to-head with UK Home Secretary Theresa May for the Tory party leadership.

While there are three other candidates in the fray -- work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb, minister of state for energy in the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change Andrea Leadsom and former defence secretary Liam Fox -- the race is believed to be mainly between Gove and May now.

May, a Tory hardliner and the UK’s longest-serving home minister, had laid out her bid Thursday, saying she just gets on with the job and that she should be judged on her record.

Comparisons with Britain’s first female PM Margaret Thatcher are inevitable but she stressed: “Whether it’s a woman or a man it’s about the qualities of the people doing the job.”

The 59-year-old has so far received the most pledges of support from Conservative party MPs and looks like the front-runner to succeed David Cameron.

All five contenders have until next Tuesday to build support among the 329 Conservative MPs before the first round of voting.

The MP with the fewest votes will be eliminated, one at a time, until two remain. They will then go to a vote of the wider party membership. The winner of the contest is set to be announced on September 9.

The immediate task at hand for any new incumbent at No. 10 Downing Street will be to begin extracting the UK from the EU following the referendum in favour of Brexit.

IMAGE: Britain's Justice Secretary Michael Gove delivers a speech after announcing his bid to become Conservative Party leader in London on Friday. Peter Nicholls/Reuters