James Campbell: Why Peter Dutton will need to almost immediately call an election if he takes over top job

THE speedy launch of the new comfortable and relaxed model Peter Dutton should lay any doubts about Malcolm Turnbull’s precarious position to rest. But there is one thing Dutton needs to do if he takes over as PM, writes James Campbell.

WITHIN hours of his failure to dislodge Malcolm Turnbull from the Liberal leadership on Tuesday, Peter Dutton was in his own office telling Sky News Australia there was more to him than the hard-faced ex-copper in charge of protecting the ­nation’s borders.

If there were any doubts that despite the Prime Minister’s 48-35 victory his position is precarious, the speedy launch of the new comfortable and relaxed model Dutton will have laid them to rest.

His peaceful demeanour was shared by his backers.

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Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton’s peaceful demeanour was shared by his backers. Picture: AFP

In contrast, the shattered faces of those who voted for the victorious leader showed they know it is only a matter of time before those determined to bring him down try again.

Indeed within minutes of MPs leaving the joint party room meeting, Sky News ran a screen strap saying “Dutton supporters are already discussing a second challenge”.

As the former Home Affairs Minister appeared on TV, several of his colleagues led by Victorian ­Michael Sukkar and Queenslander James McGrath prepared to make their way to see Turnbull to also offer their resignations.

Those two were later joined by Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and Angus Taylor from NSW and Zed ­Seselja from the ACT.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday. Picture: AAP/Mick Tsikas

The MPs backing Peter Dutton had not expected the day to end this way.

While some of them were claiming their man had the numbers, the message being disseminated was it would be better to hold off on a challenge until next month, after the impact of Monday’s ­humiliating backdown on ­energy policy had time to filter through opinion polls.

By Tuesday morning, while some Turnbull supporters were nervous that “something might happen” this week, virtually nobody was expecting he would declare the leadership vacant at the 9am meeting of Liberal MPs.

The PM’s staff and supporters were extremely slow to realise how much trouble he was in. Over the weekend they were telling journalists they believed Dutton would get no more than 10 votes.

By late on Monday it had dawned on them that their man’s position was far worse than that, but they were still telling people that they thought Dutton would get no more than 30 votes.

But some of those people they thought were with them were not only not going to vote for Turnbull, they were now working for his removal.

Meanwhile in the National Party, the supporters of banished leader Barnaby Joyce were planning his return if Turnbull fell.

Voters sick of our governments changing prime ministers with the frequency with which they change their mobile phones are entitled to ask how it has come to this.

Especially — as Turnbull pointed out on Tuesday — at a time when “we’ve had record jobs growth, strong economic growth, we have reduced business taxes and personal taxes and spending on essential services is higher than ever”.

The root of the answer is that a large number of Liberals always thought Malcolm Turnbull was a Leftist cuckoo in their nest — or in the words of Fierravanti-Wells’ resignation letter, the party’s “conservative base strongly feel their voice has been eroded”.

As one MP who supported Turnbull said on Tuesday: “People outside the party don’t understand how much these people hate Malcolm.”

The hatred cuts both ways. There are moderate Liberals and even Nats who will not hang around if Dutton is PM.

And with a one-seat majority and an independent in Cathy McGowan who has made it clear she will not support a Dutton government, if he eventually does take over, he will need to call an election almost immediately.

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