Abbott urges “bruised” supporters to stay in Liberal Party, is less kind to others

THE list of The Unforgiven is growing as Tony Abbott continues his lap of honour of radio studios thanking favourites, and lashing out at those who crossed him.

Actor Clint Eastwood in scene from film 'Unforgiven'. /Films/Titles/Unforgiven

ANALYSIS

The list of The Unforgiven is growing as Tony Abbott continues his lap of honour of radio studios thanking favourite broadcasters and audiences.

The former PM arrives to salute loyal listeners — today it was those of Melbourne’s 3AW — but stays to seep a few more drops of the bitterness he has accumulated over the past two and a half weeks.

At the end of the two interviews so far — the first being 2GB — a listener is left with the perception of a man who has made clear he has a lot of energy left and will not forget his enemies or his friends.

He knows who did what in his removal as Prime Minister — an event he can only refer to as “the situation”.

Today he declined to say if he had “forgiven” his successor Malcolm Turnbull but didn’t flinch from refusing to let bygones be bygones with certain journalists whose stories criticising his leadership used “self-serving” anonymous sources.

“A lot of people in the media have got to ask themselves the question: Why did they allow themselves to be an assassin’s knife?” he said. If he remained cranky at the reporters, imagine the dark thoughts he had for the assassins.

Next there were those who didn’t support the 2014 Budget, including “a feckless cross bench”. “It was a brave, bold Budget, too bold for the Parliament,” he said.

The bitterness is understandable, the thank you to broadcasters he has chatted to for six years was commendable.

However, we still have no firm idea of what Mr Abbott will do next, apart from stay in Parliament for at least the remainder of the year.

Today he encouraged others to stay and fight. Mr Abbott did the right thing as a Liberal servant by urging his angry supporters not to resign from the party in protest at his removal, even if, he seemed to indicate, they had to hold their noses.

“I can understand why a lot of people feel bruised, but in the end we’ve got to make the most of situations, even very difficult ones,” he said.

“And the best way to make the most of the situation that we find ourselves in is to continue to support good causes, good people and Coalition governments.”

And he said: “So I can understand their dismay but please, we have to make the best of a difficult situation.”

In asking them to support the cause he left unsaid whether he would he be doing the same in Parliament.

Mr Abbott has no doubts about his success as leader, including his harassment of a Labor government which began with a “massive” parliamentary majority.

“We took that government to minority status,” he said of what began as the Kevin Rudd administration but went to the 2010 election under Julia Gillard.

Mr Abbott immediately corrected the pronoun he had used: “I took that government to minority status.”

Elsewhere he offered this rating: “Obviously I’ve been a very effective leader.”

So he believes he has a lot left to give and hasn’t yet decided where to give it.