Libs quiet on leadership, despite fresh poll slump
A new opinion poll could spell trouble for the opposition leader, but Liberal MPs say there’s no appetite for a spill at this stage.
Source: Andrew Hastie
Liberal MPs are hosing down the prospects of a leadership change, despite Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s personal popularity plunging after weeks of party infighting.
Just 33 per cent of voters surveyed in the latest Resolve poll rated Ley’s performance as good or very good, down from 41 per cent in September.
The poll indicated 38 per cent of voters said Ley’s performance was poor or very poor – a jump of six points on the previous poll.
Despite the poor figures, Liberal figures were quick to say a leadership spill was not imminent.
Asked about the numbers, former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott said Ley had his “support and encouragement”, but he didn’t want to give a running commentary on her performance.
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Abbott said a good opposition should be a “strong and clear contrast to the government of the day”.
“Politics is a contest. As I said when I became opposition leader back in 2009, there’s no point making weak compromises with a bad government,” he told Nine’s Today program on Monday.
There has been heated internal debate about the future of the Liberal Party after renegade MP Andrew Hastie quit the front bench because of a disagreement about policies on climate change and immigration.
Hastie has also made contributions on social media, calling for a return to manufacturing-based policies.
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The former SAS soldier has made no secret of his ambitions to one day lead the Liberals, but has also said he supports Ley’s leadership for now.
Abbott said he was disappointed that Hastie had left the front bench, describing him as having “vast potential and promise”.
Despite the drop in Ley’s personal popularity, the Coalition has held steady as a whole. It trails Labor by 10 points on a two-party-preferred measure of 55-45.
That is the same margin as the last election, in which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led Labor to a thumping majority of 94 seats in federal parliament.
Liberal senator Jane Hume, who was dumped from the shadow ministry after the election, defended Ley and said the only poll that really mattered was the next election.
“This has certainly been a couple of tough weeks for the coalition,” she told Sky News.
“Sussan Ley has the toughest job in politics right now … and she’s doing really well trying to get the Coalition back on track.
“What we need to do now is focus on what the job is, which is being an effective opposition.”
Asked about the future of the Coalition, Liberal and National voters were split on where the parties should go now.
The Resolve poll said 32 per cent of Coalition voters said the political partnership should become more conservative, while 33 per cent said it should move closer to the centre ground.
It also revealed 12 per cent said the party should not change and 23 per cent were unsure.
