It’s time for the Coalition to look for its next leader

WHO will the furious Liberal base turn to when they react to Malcolm Turnbull’s destruction of their party? Not the Liberal ministers who still refuse to tell the Left-leaning PM his global-warming policy is a con, writes Andrew Bolt.

HERE’S a tip to the Liberal ministers who still refuse to tell Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that his global-warming policy is a con.

I’m talking about ministers who have been talked of as the next generation of conservative leaders of a Liberal Party sliding to a hiding.

Hello, Angus Taylor. Are you listening, Peter Dutton and Christian Porter? Attention, Alan Tudge, Mathias Cormann and even Scott Morrison, assuming you won’t go down with the ship as Turnbull’s Treasurer.

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WHAT IS THE NEG?

Think: after the election, when your Liberal base reacts in fury to the destruction of your party by the Left-leaning Turnbull, who will they turn to lead them out of this mess?

Will it be to people like you, meekly going along with Turnbull’s National Energy Guarantee — a global-warming plan with a target to cut emissions, not a target to cut prices?

Or will they turn, instead, to those who have the guts now to call it out as a cruel con that hurts Australians without helping the planet — that jacks up power prices without cutting the temperature?

Who will the furious Liberal base turn to when they react to Malcolm Turnbull’s destruction of their party? Picture: AAP/Lukas Coch

My guess: the Liberals in defeat will look instead to some of the MPs who have had the courage to defy the pack this week.

I’m talking about some of the 10 MPs who — at this stage — have reserved their right to cross the floor of the House and vote against this global warming scheme that even Labor says it could vote for: Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, Tony Pasin, George Christensen, Kevin Andrews, Craig Kelly, Andrew Gee, Andrew Hastie, Eric Abetz and Barry O’Sullivan.

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The Liberals in defeat will look instead to the MPs — such as Andrew Hastie and Tony Abbott — who have had the courage to defy the pack this week. Picture: Gary Ramage

But the Liberals and Nationals who could finally deep-six this NEG by resigning from the ministry are sitting back, despite knowing the NEG is a dog.

Does anyone believe that Dutton after the election will praise the NEG that helped his Liberals lose it?

I understand these men would rather not resign and be blamed for ending the last hopes of a government which could yet win the next election, provided Labor leader Bill Shorten is caught on camera mugging a blind widow.

But after the election, what then? The Liberals will have to ditch this policy and attack the Shorten government for its own global-warming madness.

Who would be the Liberals’ best leader for that assault? Someone who tamely backed the NEG that Labor likes or who fought it when it mattered?

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Originally published as It’s time for the Coalition to look for its next leader