Rarely free from scandal and never out of the headlines as Britain’s charismatic prime minister, Boris Johnson dominated British politics, overshadowed his rivals and reinvented his governing Conservative Party in his own compelling, polarizing image.

So for all the acrimony his leadership brought with it, Johnson’s departure leaves a gaping void in the stewardship of a country charting a troubled post-Brexit future and a dire economic backdrop.

Despite Johnson’s missteps, there is no prospect of an imminent general election under Britain’s parliamentary system, leaving the ultimate choice of Britain’s next leader to the roughly 200,000 members of the Conservative Party.