Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Julie Bishop has asserted she’s not about to drop the ‘Deputy’ from her title, telling The Today Show she’s quite happy to continue supporting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull despite his 30th consecutive Newspoll loss.
Commenting on the track record – and the fact Turnbull used former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s thirtieth consecutive Newspoll loss as a trigger to push for the leadership – host Karl Stefanovic asked Bishop why she hasn’t taken a swing herself.
“Because I’m the Deputy of the party and I’ve been elected by my colleagues to be the Deputy, and I’ll continue to serve as Deputy as long as my colleagues want me to,” Bishop said.
Downplaying the apparent landmark of a poll result, Bishop said “that’s the test for the leadership positions – if you retain the confidence of the majority of the party room, then you retain the leadership position.”
“I’ll continue to serve as deputy for as long as my colleagues want me to. And that’s the test for the leadership positions. If you retain the confidence of the majority of the party room then you retain your leadership position.” – @JulieBishopMP #9Today pic.twitter.com/miZWvOPL3Z
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) April 8, 2018
While the poll loss holds symbolic significance, Bishop’s remarks are similar to those from other top positions, who insist a leadership challenge ain’t on the cards.
Then again, this is Australian politics, so watch this space.
