Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has ostensibly put an end – on her part, at least – to rampant speculation that she will be challenging Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s leadership of the Liberal Party by announcing to her Cabinet colleagues that she will remain Abbott’s faithful deputy forevermore.
According to a report from the ABC, Bishop made her intentions clear during a Cabinet meeting in Canberra this afternoon, where she also reportedly called on backbenchers to rally behind Abbott in support at what must be a particularly trying time for the politically inept and ambitious alike in the incumbent party.
“I am not campaigning for the job of prime minister,” Bishop is also reported to have told her Cabinet colleagues. “I am not ringing the backbenchers and seeking their support. I will not challenge.”
Bishop has also spoken directly to Sky News, telling them in a statement that she is “not campaigning for the job of Prime Minister. I’m not counting numbers. I will not challenge the leader.”
