Bahnisch: Liberals fight over their own soulThe CPRS battles within the Liberal party have nothing to do with good public policy or climate change, says Mark Bahnisch — it’s a contest over the spoils of opposition and the ideological direction of the party itself.
Liberal leadership
Coalition at war
The Coalition has descended into new levels of chaos over emissions trading, with a pack of 17 rebels getting behind Senator Nick Minchin as he slammed the scheme in Parliament yesterday, and even Tony Abbott now reneging his support.
Either way, Turnbull’s on eggshells
Malcolm Turnbull is caught in a pincer movement between Liberal conservatives and Kevin Rudd — and both appear determined to destroy him.
Crikey Says: Minchin destroys the Liberal Party to save it
Nick Minchin’s appearance onn Four Corners last week was a calculated performance by one of the country’s shrewdest political tacticians who knew precisely how the media and his colleagues would react.
Turnbull facing partyroom revolt
Ten Coalition MPs have warned Malcolm Turnbull that they will cross the floor and vote against emissions trading laws laws, regardless of any negotiations.
Mungo MacCallum: Minchin has no excuse for his ignorance
The most depressing statistic of modern times is the one that tells us that well over 50% of adult Americans do not believe in evolution. Or it was — until Nick Minchin came along.
Watch the 4 Corners report: Malcolm and the malcontents
Watch the ABC’s 4 Corners report that exposed the Coalition’s deep divisions over the issue of climate change and caused further rifts within the party.
Maiden: “Fruit Loop” Minchin and the Coalition’s climate sceptics
Nick Minchin and the rest of the Coalition’s climate-sceptic cabal didn’t just open up to the ABC’s 4 Corners to stick it to Rudd: they genuinely believe climate change is a left-wing conspiracy, writes Samantha Maiden.
Turnbull’s execution was all in the mind
Yesterday’s special coalition party room meeting about whether or not Malcolm Turnbull could get the Coalition to agree to make ETS amendments wasn’t so much a damp squib as sopping wet.
Not even fear mongering can save the Opposition
Many in the Opposition are pushing an anti-ETS line, but it’s hard to run a scare campaign when you’re not in power. A time will come when voters don’t view Kevin Rudd as Father Christmas, but not for awhile, writes Peter Brent.
Turnbull takes his potent template to the west
Whatever his current polling woes, in Malcolm Turnbull, the Liberal Party may just have found a potent template for its political direction and indeed, its very future, writes The Western Warrior.
Poll: Libs up, but Turnbull gets a thumbs down
The latest Essential Report has the Liberal Party up two points with a two-party of 58-42, but an overwhelming majority think Turnbull hasn’t got the temperament or judgment to be a party leader.
Gerard Henderson backs Turnbull
Well, someone had to: Gerard Henderson supports Malcolm Turnbull as leader of the Liberal Party, claiming the media is making too big a deal of the whole leadership debate in the first place.
The unwritten Malcolm Turnbull story
Malcolm Turnbull can play the game, but he missed the pre-season. Politicians need a deeper, underlying story to weave to the public and it’s a shame Turnbull missed the importance of writing his, says Lindy Edwards.
Hartcher: Malcolm Turnbull: dead man walking
The good ship Liberal Party is sinking with a corpse at its helm, says Peter Hartcher. Joe Hockey isn’t a particularly promising alternative, but he’s better than the political walking dead.
A tale of two polls
A Morgan poll on Friday had Joe Hockey leading Malcolm Turnbull as voters’ preferred Liberal leader 30% to 21%, but today’s Newspoll has Turnbull back in the lead. Did the drama of last week produce a move to Turnbull — or away from Hockey? asks William Bowe.
Quick, Nats: now’s your time to get out!
As ideological cracks grow deeper and MP numbers drop, being part of the Coalition is no longer working in the National Party’s favour. With the Liberal Party in disarray, now is the perfect time for the Nats to jump ship, says Jack the Insider.
Looking back, this will not be the Liberals’ finest hour
A future historian will look back at the gung-ho neoliberal era of circa 1975-2006 and wonder about its wild excesses and its selective blindness; the present day Liberal Party will no doubt be part of that curious museum exhibit, writes Norman Abjorensen.
Sing the Coalition theme song: “Ring the final bell, Hel…”
In light of Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal leadership mess, North Coast Voices have created a political ditty titled 22 Ways To Leave Your Leader. All together now “Lose another preselection seat, Pete…”
Grattan: Libs kick Turnbull to death
Malcolm Turnbull is putting on a brave face, but no-one is fooled, says Michelle Grattan: his party has kicked him to death, and he’s in no shape to fight an election.
Kerr: Writing Turnbull’s obituary
Margaret Thatche’s official biographer once described Malcolm Turnbull as “brilliant”. And he is, says Christian Kerr, but that doesn’t mean he’s cut out for politics.
Libs face an election massacre
The embattled Liberal Party’s own polling has predicted the party would face an absolute slaughtering if an election was called soon — and both Hockey and Turnbull would lose their seats.
Canberra Calling: The Joe and Malcolm minstrel podcast
Crikey’s Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane and editor Jonathan Green blackface-off over the Liberal Party leadership.
Hockey would be a disaster as Opposition Leader
Joe Hockey is a lightweight at best, and his performance in the media yesterday proved it.
Opposition leadership: what the polls say
With the current Coalition leadership shenanigans dominating the media space today, Possum Comitatus takes a look at the recent history of Liberal Party leadership polling.
