When they turn nasty, politicians can be an extraordinarily ugly lot. This week, the Liberals looked hideous – feral, self-indulgent, thuggish and contemptuous of an electorate that would like to be able to have MPs respect its choice of the country’s prime minister.
No wonder ordinary people caught by the cameras in the vox pops were disgusted. This was a shocker performance, even by coup standards.
As Malcolm Turnbull said, an “insurgency” by the conservatives brought him down. But, in a sort of perverse justice, the insurgents were punished. Their reprehensible behaviour blasted out the leader they hated but failed to deliver them the prize they desired – installing their own man in the Lodge.
Turnbull, by delaying the ballot, and getting the Solicitor-General to give an opinion on a question mark over Dutton’s eligibility to sit in parliament, helped to thwart them.
Dutton thought his prospects better than they were; Turnbull judged his own prospects to be worse than the reality.
The spill motion was carried 45-40, a tiny margin. In other words, 40 people wanted to keep Turnbull. Yet three cabinet ministers - Mathias Cormann, Mitch Fifield and Michaelia Cash - had previously insisted to Turnbull that he had lost the party room’s support and then resigned, ensuring his political death.
No wonder that after the spill numbers were given to the party room, Turnbull said “what a farce”.
A shocker performance, even by coup standards
When they turn nasty, politicians can be an extraordinarily ugly lot. This week, the Liberals looked hideous – feral, self-indulgent, thuggish and contemptuous of an electorate that would like to be able to have MPs respect its choice of the country’s prime minister.
No wonder ordinary people caught by the cameras in the vox pops were disgusted. This was a shocker performance, even by coup standards.
As Malcolm Turnbull said, an “insurgency” by the conservatives brought him down. But, in a sort of perverse justice, the insurgents were punished. Their reprehensible behaviour blasted out the leader they hated but failed to deliver them the prize they desired – installing their own man in the Lodge.
Read more: How the hard right terminated Turnbull, only to see Scott Morrison become PM
Turnbull, by delaying the ballot, and getting the Solicitor-General to give an opinion on a question mark over Dutton’s eligibility to sit in parliament, helped to thwart them.
Dutton thought his prospects better than they were; Turnbull judged his own prospects to be worse than the reality.
The spill motion was carried 45-40, a tiny margin. In other words, 40 people wanted to keep Turnbull. Yet three cabinet ministers - Mathias Cormann, Mitch Fifield and Michaelia Cash - had previously insisted to Turnbull that he had lost the party room’s support and then resigned, ensuring his political death.
No wonder that after the spill numbers were given to the party room, Turnbull said “what a farce”.
(See the complete article at https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-a-shocker-performance-eve...)