Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper on Friday backed Theresa May’s bid to become the next prime minister, saying she was the only one out of five candidates for the Conservative Party leadership who was up to the job.
After last week’s vote to leave the European Union plunged Britain into its biggest political crisis of modern times, Prime Minister David Cameron said he would resign, prompting a leadership battle in the party.
“The Mail believes only Mrs May has the right qualities, the stature and experience to unite both her party and the country — and possibly usher in a new, cleaner, more honest kind of politics,” the anti-EU newspaper said in a comment piece.
“She is a serious-minded woman, with an ethic of public service and an enormous capacity for hard work and attention to detail,” said the newspaper which has a daily circulation of 1.5 million, the second-biggest in Britain after The Sun tabloid.
“In this respect, and in her steeliness, she is somewhat reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher,” it said.