Why Jackie Trad standing down is bitter sweet for the LNP

At first glance you could assume that Jackie Trad standing down was a chaotic win for Deb Frecklington and the opposition. But it could have election ramifications for the LNP in October.

JACKIE Trad’s demise must have seemed like a damn good Mother’s Day present for Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington.

After all, this was a victory for Ms Frecklington and the LNP after their dogged pursuit of Ms Trad over her role in the process to appoint the principal for a new state high school in her electorate.

The chaos of the feisty former deputy premier first trying to stand aside on Saturday before eventually resigning on Sunday must have looked like icing on the cake.

Jackie Trad standing down is bittersweet for Deb Frecklington and the LNP. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

At first blush, it might appear like all this has got the LNP back in the game.

In recent months, the coronavirus crisis had rendered Ms Frecklington irrelevant, just like it’s done to all opposition leaders.

What was needed to change that was a political crisis and here was doozy that went right to the top of the Palaszczuk administration.

However, Ms Trad’s removal from the ministry alters the game entirely in the lead-up to the October 31 state election.

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Internally, the former treasurer was a divisive figure, loved by some and loathed by others, and her removal gives Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk a chance to assume full authority and project a more cohesive government.

Externally, Ms Trad was even more unpopular, particularly in regional Queensland, but her removal means that one of the key issues that was driving votes from Labor to the LNP has been taken away.

Left Faction powerbrokers who came to the conclusion that Labor couldn’t sustain another Trad integrity scandal have finally demonstrated some pragmatism.

It may mean Ms Frecklington becomes a victim of her own success. 

Originally published as Why Jackie Trad standing down is bitter sweet for the LNP