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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has affirmed that she enjoys strong backing from her party colleagues following an agreement with the Nationals to reestablish their coalition. However, the looming threat of another unfavorable opinion poll could jeopardize her leadership.
In a recent development, the coalition partners have reunited after nearly three weeks of separation due to discord over hate speech legislation. Ley stated that by coming together once more, they are better equipped to hold the Labor government accountable.
The rekindling of the coalition also provides Ley with an opportunity to solidify her leadership of the Liberal Party amid rumors of a potential leadership challenge that intensified during the split.
Nevertheless, with the return of Nationals members to the shadow cabinet, Ley loses the leverage of offering promotions to key Liberals as a means to strengthen her position.
When questioned about the likelihood of a leadership challenge, Ley expressed her “very confident” belief in having the robust support of her party room.
“They elected me nine months ago to lead,” she said on Sunday.
“I said then I was up for the job. I’m up for the job now.”
Former shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has firmed as a potential challenger after fellow leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie bowed out of the race.
With both men vying for the backing of the Liberals’ conservative wing, Mr Hastie’s withdrawal cleared the runway for Mr Taylor by averting a split in the right-faction vote.
Liberal sources said they thought Mr Taylor could move a spill as soon as the coming week if opinion polls showed the coalition falling even further behind One Nation.
Coalition support tumbling as One Nation sees huge gains
On Sunday night, a Newspoll survey published in The Australian showed the coalition’s primary vote plumbing a new low of 17 per cent, down from 21 per cent in mid-January.
One Nation surged to 27 per cent — a record high and within six per cent of Labor.
Recent opinion polling by Redbridge and DemosAU also had One Nation ahead or on par with the coalition.
Ms Ley also flagged the party would soon announce its immigration principles.
Expected by the end of February, it is likely to spell out an intention to lower Australia’s migration intake below current levels in a bid to stem the flow of voters to One Nation.
But that could prove too late to save her leadership.
Mr Taylor failed to put rumours of a spill to bed on Friday, telling Sydney radio station 2GB he did have leadership ambitions.
Pressed on whether Ms Ley would still be leader in a week, he said a coup was not in the works but conceded he had been having conversations with his colleagues about the party’s future.
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