Shannon Deery: The Liberal Party still struggles to answer basic questions – like what does it actually stand for

The Coalition’s primary vote has been going steadily backwards since Brad Battin took over and that’s bad news for a man leading a party with a proclivity for punishing its leaders.

Premier Jacinta Allan is leading in the polls as the Coalition remains toxic among women, renters, and voters under 35. Picture: Brendan Beckett

They say the only poll that counts is the one on election day.

That may be so – unless of course you’re the leader of the embattled Victorian Liberal Party.

Then the only poll that counts is the one that triggers a leadership spill.

Since Brad Battin took over as leader of the party in December, the Coalition’s primary vote has gone only one way: down.

He shaved two points off in an April poll and gave up another three points in the latest polling.

The only poll that counts for Brad Battin is the one that triggers a leadership spill. Picture: Nadir Kinani

This is not a blip, it’s a trend.

Between September 2023 and last December the Coalition’s primary vote steadily increased from a low of 34 to 43.

But it’s been going steadily backwards since Battin took over and that’s bad news for a man leading a party with a proclivity for punishing its leaders.

This polling will intensify leadership talk among MPs and the membership base.

Which might not be entirely fair, but politics never is.

Battin inherited a political shambles from John Pesutto, an era bookended by internal chaos and public brawls.

Chief among them, the carcass of the more than two-year battle between Moira Deeming and Pesutto.

Having been dragged kicking and screaming into that political fight, Battin thought he had helped orchestrate a deal that would make it finally go away.

Instead it’s come back to life with a new court case that threatens to drag on for many, many months.

He’s worked to rebuild bridges inside the party room, but the effort of that has left him unable to focus on the main job.

This is something that Battin has conceded himself.

The latest polling shows just 26 per cent of voters believe the Coalition “deserves to win” the next election.

A full 45 per cent disagree.

Among women, renters, and voters under 35, the Coalition remains toxic.

Even among its own supporters, less than half strongly agree that the party is election ready.

That sentiment is more about the Liberal brand than Battin himself.

It’s the accumulated baggage of a decade’s worth of internal feuds, cultural missteps and electoral failures.

And it remains a political party that still struggles to answer basic questions – like what does it actually stand for.

These issues might not be entirely of his making, but Battin is responsible for finding the solutions.

Originally published as Shannon Deery: The Liberal Party still struggles to answer basic questions – like what does it actually stand for