Famous Political Failure Tony Abbott Says He’d Be Happy To Lead The Liberal Party Again
Let it go.
A heads up for the Liberals in the room: former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has generously offered to clear his schedule and lead the party once again, if anyone wants him.
Abbott shared this tidbit at Manly Yacht club yesterday, where he was taking questions from voters in his electorate. After a voter asked if he was planning on having another crack at the Liberal Party leadership in the future, he said that while he’s not interested in entering a contested ballot for the position, he’s happy to step up to the plate if the party invites him to.
“It will be up to the party room,” he said. “If they want me they will need to invite me — but I am not expecting that.”
“I am not going to shoulder anyone aside for the top job, because for me it has never been about that,” he added, which is hilarious given that Liberal Party sources report that Abbott has been pretty busy working behind the scenes during the last couple of leadership spills. After the spill that ousted Scott Morrison last year, former Liberal Party leader John Hewson pretty much blamed the spill on Abbott.
“The fact is that Tony Abbott has been desperate to get even for the fact Turnbull replaced him as leader,” Hewson said. “And he’s been working to undermine for many, many months, and this has brought it to a head getting Dutton to challenge”.
bREaKing! pic.twitter.com/adfPzXfHhU
— The AMWU (@theamwu) March 21, 2019
Anyway, Tony’s comments have already started to make a splash outside of Manly Yacht club. In an interview this morning, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was asked about Abbott’s chances of returning to the leadership.
“I know Tony Abbott has his hands full in his own seat, and that is where his focus is, and that is where it should be,” he said. As much as it pains me to say it, Frydenberg is right — Abbott should probably be focused on actually winning a seat in Parliament before he starts fantasising about leadership roles.
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