Could Boris Johnson replace Liz Truss? Here are the top contenders.

Who on earth will follow Liz Truss?

The British prime minister will have served just six tumultuous weeks in office, despite having won handily an internal Conservative Party leadership race to replace Boris Johnson, her predecessor who resigned in July after just three years in office.

Truss announced her resignation Thursday morning after a bruising period in which her radical economic plan was almost entirely reversed because it caused panic in the financial markets and a sharp dip in the Conservative Party’s already low standing in polls.

Replacing Truss as leader of the Conservative Party is likely to be an internal party affair. But is anyone up to the uphill task of mending the rifts within Britain’s major right-wing party, let alone healing the country’s ailing economy and leading the Conservatives into a general election scheduled for 2025?

Some of the top names under discussion include a candidate who lost to Truss during the last internal leadership battle and one who has indicated he has no interest in running.

Another option: The return of Boris Johnson. Rumors are building that he could mount a push for the rare role of once-and-future prime minister.

Confusing the matter is that it is not clear how the next Conservative Party leader will be chosen. The last time, the process took almost two months. Truss announced Thursday that this time it would take one week.

Here are the most prominent contenders.

1. Rishi Sunak © Henry Nicholls/Reuters Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak speaks to the media at an event to launch his campaign to be the next Conservative leader and Prime Minister, in London, Britain, July 12, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

As a former leader Chancellor of the Exchequer — the U.K.’s finance minister — during Johnson’s government, the 42-year-old Sunak has a reputation as a grown-up, serious politician.

During the last leadership contest all those weeks ago, Sunak dismissed Truss’s proposed economic reforms, calling them “fairy tale” economics. Their implementation has lent credence to his characterization.

But therein lies one of Sunak’s weaknesses. He already ran to be the leader of the party, ending up in the final standoff with Truss herself. He lost, in part because he could not appeal to the hardcore Conservative Party members who held the vote.

His elite background could be a problem during a general election too. He attended an exclusive private school before heading to Oxford and Stanford University and working at Goldman Sachs.

Though he broke with Johnson, he was implicated in the “Partygate” scandal that brought that former leader down and was even fined by police for attending one of the government gatherings that violated pandemic lockdown rules.

2. Penny Mordaunt © Toby Melville/Reuters Britain’s Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt walks outside Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, October 18, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

Another possibility favored by centrist members of the Conservative Party is Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons.

Mordaunt, 49, drew attention this week as she was left to defend the government’s U-turns in Parliament when Truss apparently could not.

Some believe Mordaunt and Sunak could team up. Mordaunt, who was briefly the country’s first female defense secretary, has also served as a junior trade minister and is considered more popular with the party’s grass roots.

She has an eclectic background, including stints as a magician’s assistant and a brief period as head of foreign press for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign.

But Mordaunt is not a well-known figure in Britain, a detail that seems to have helped curtail her run to be Conservative Party leader in July, where she was eliminated in the fifth round of voting. She went on to endorse Truss.

3. Ben Wallace © Toby Melville/Reuters British Defense Minister Ben Wallace speaks during the annual Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Britain, Oct. 2, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

The British Defense Secretary is well-liked by many in the Conservative Party and even non-supporters for his steadfast role during the war in Ukraine.

Wallace, 52, was at work amid the chaos on Thursday, telling the House of Commons that a Russian fighter jet released a missile near a British plane in international airspace over the Black Sea last month.

A member of parliament since 2005, he also served in the military and put in active service during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He has kept himself largely out of the internecine warfare of the Conservative Party.

But there’s a big catch: Wallace has said he doesn’t want the job. He ruled himself out of the running for party leader during the last contest in the early stages, later endorsing Truss.

“I didn’t want it enough,” he later told the Telegraph.

4. Boris Johnson © Leon Neal/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND — SEPTEMBER 06: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts to Conservative party members after delivering a farewell address before his official resignation at Downing Street on Sept. 6, 2022 in London. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Yes, really.

Johnson’s last day in office was just 44 days ago, but rumors are already swirling in the British press that he could make a return.

There’s a strange logic to it. Despite the scandals that brought him down, the 58-year-old remains popular with Conservative Party members, according to polls. And whatever his later troubles, of the commanding victory he secured at the 2019 general election are still fresh for many.

So far, Johnson has not commented. He is reported to be holidaying in the Caribbean.