Battle For Pm Seat Could Be Major Fight

Taunted by opponents, surrounded by calculating loyalists and battling to stay in office, Prime Minister John Major said Wednesday he was “unbloodied” and will survive.

But Major’s prospects of an outright win in the July 4 contest for leadership of the governing Conservative Party appeared increasingly uncertain after another big right-wing rival indicated he also would challenge the prime minister.

Major, who succeeded Margaret Thatcher in 1990, resigned last week as party leader, daring right-wing party dissidents who oppose European union to back him or sack him.

In the House of Commons, opposition Labor Party legislators ridiculed Major as running an ungovernable party with rivals “twisting the knife.”

Outside the chamber, in the corridors of Parliament, Conservative Party legislators - from rank-and-file members to Cabinet ministers - dived deeper into a feverish game of bluff and behind-the-scenes calculations.

The 329 legislators choose the party leader, who is automatically the prime minister. If Major is beaten July 4, he must resign.