MALCOLM Turnbull has not ruled out an ambition to lead the Liberal Party again, despite describing his chances of getting Tony Abbott’s job as “somewhere between nil and very negligible’’.
After clashing with Sydney radio personality Alan Jones yesterday morning, saying he and News Corp Australia columnist Andrew Bolt were “bomb-throwers’’ doing Labor’s work by suggesting division in the government’s ranks, the Communications Minister said the Liberal Party was united and he was behind the Prime Minister.
“I don’t have any plans, any desires, any expectations to be the leader and that’s true,’’ Mr Turnbull told the ABC’s 7.30 last night.
“Having said that, I’m going to be very honest with you here, politics is an unpredictable business. People say to me often, ‘do you think you will be leader again?’ and I say my prospects are somewhere between nil and very negligible and I think that is about right.
“I don’t think there is any member of the House of Representatives who, if in the right circumstances, would not take on that responsibility. But I am very, very happy doing what I’m doing. I have a really exciting job, being the Communications Minister.’’
Liberal MPs believe Mr Turnbull’s row with Bolt and Jones is distracting from the budget sales job and want the issue to die soon.
Mr Turnbull’s clash with Jones yesterday came three days after he described as “demented’’, “unhinged’’ and “crazy’’ claims by Bolt last weekend that Mr Turnbull was positioning himself for some kind of threat or challenge to Mr Abbott.
The claims were sparked by a dinner Mr Turnbull had with Clive Palmer last week and his attendance at the launch of a Parliamentary Friends of the ABC group.
Senior Liberals believe Mr Turnbull’s appearance on Jones’s show and his swipe at Bolt were “Malcolm being Malcolm’’. It was a “Canberra soap opera’’ and would be forgotten in two weeks.
Some senior MPs believe Mr Turnbull is “more sinned-against than sinning’’.
There is a general belief that Mr Turnbull is not attempting to destabilise the Prime Minister but is merely defending himself.
One senior MP said Mr Turnbull was keeping his profile up to stay in calculations should Mr Abbott no longer be leader and cautioned him against fuelling the dispute or it would count against him with party colleagues.
Several MPs said Mr Turnbull did not have widespread support among MPs or in the Liberal Party rank and file.
However, one MP said Mr Turnbull had been very restrained under Jones’s provocation.
MPs said there was no possibility of any challenge to the Prime Minister this term.
Mr Turnbull was confronted by Jones over the Palmer dinner and his efforts to sell the May 13 budget.
“Can I begin by asking you if you could say after me this? ‘As a senior member of the Abbott government I want to say here I am totally supportive of the Abbott-Hockey strategy for budget repair’,’’ Jones said.
Mr Turnbull replied: “Alan, I am not going to take dictation from you. I am a cabinet minister. I support unreservedly and wholeheartedly every element in the budget. Every single one.’’
Mr Turnbull said he rejected all of Mr Palmer’s criticisms of Mr Abbott and he defended the Prime Minister all the time. Mr Turnbull said he and Mr Abbott were “a team’’.
“And the thing that has distressed me this week is that people, yourself, Andrew Bolt in particular, have set out to suggest there is dissension in the government, that there are challenges to Tony’s leadership,’’ he said.
Jones said: “There is no challenge to his leadership they are suggesting, Malcolm, precisely because you have no hope ever of being the leader. You’ve got to get that into your head. No hope ever.
“But because of that you’re happy to throw a few bombs around that might blow up Abbott a bit. That’s what they’re saying.’’
Mr Turnbull hit back: “Well, that’s what you’re saying. And that is what Andrew Bolt is saying. And it is doing the Labor Party’s work. This is the most united, cohesive government we’ve had in this country for a long time and I think it is just very sad that you and Bolt are doing the work of the Labor Party in undermining the Abbott government.’’
source: theaustralian.com.au
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