In what definitely gives off the vibe of a government doing perfectly well, the Liberal Party has held a party meeting this evening with the apparent aim of shoring up the leadership against surprise coups, as has been the norm of our last few governments.
[jwplayer YcpeAy7l]
Instead of, say, acting like a bunch of fucking adults and just agreeing that deposing your leader the moment that the polls take a dive is terrible for the party, the Libs passed a motion requiring a two-thirds majority for a leadership spill motion to be passed:
#BREAKING: The changes to make it harder to unseat a Liberal leader have passed the partyroom. This means 2/3 of the partyroom vote would be needed for a spill.
— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) December 3, 2018
While this might seem like a pre-emptive move by prime-minister-for-now Scott Morrison to protect himself from any knifings on the immediate horizon, Sky News is reporting that the rule only applies to leaders elected at a general election. This would obviously not include Morrison, who is only in the office by the good graces of a very confusing week in politics.
It seems more likely that this is an attempt to salvage the party’s image by acknowledging that very outwardly visible internal strife looks like shit to voters and doesn’t give an impression that actual work is getting done.
Deputy Liberal leader Josh Frydenberg says leadership spills have “diminished the Parliament and its reputation in the eyes of the public” and the Liberal Party has listened #auspol
— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) December 3, 2018
Morrison fronted the media afterwards alongside deputy party leader Josh Frydenberg, telling reporters that they believe that voters are sick of the leadership changes.
The Liberal partyroom has passed new rules saying a sitting leader can only be rolled with a two thirds majority.@ScottMorrisonMP: It only applies to leaders who successfully contest an election.
MORE: https://t.co/7JQ3xGtqWA #pmlive pic.twitter.com/EkFrx5N2hS
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) December 3, 2018
Let’s see if saying ‘Yes, we are shithouse.’ is as appealing to voters as just not being shithouse in the first place.
