Tony Abbott answers the question no one asked

WE HAVE a new Prime Minister and we are eager to hear from the key players. Instead Tony Abbott has stepped forward.

HOW did Ned Flanders describe Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons?

“Springfield’s answer to a question no one asked.”

Well, step forward Tony Abbott you’ve become the Lisa Simpson of federal Parliament.

Just minutes after Scott Morrison was voted the new leader of the Liberal Party and the man who will become our next Prime Minister, reporters were keen for a comment from the defeated parties.

Peter Dutton — who lost the vote 45-40 — had just a few words. “Congratulations to Scott Morrison,” a disappointed Mr Dutton said.

He then said he would provide loyalty to Mr Morrison and help the Coalition defeat Labor and Bill Shorten at the next election.

Then who wandered out of the party room with that distinct walk? None other than backbencher Mr Abbott.

Pssst... @TonyAbbottMHR... it’s still not you 😉

— Jess McGuire🌈 (@jessmcguire) August 24, 2018

Tony Abbott just blew up the Liberal Party. His nincompoop sidekick, Dutton, was just the hand grenade. The hatred in that party room could be an alternative energy source. #auspol

— Rhys Muldoon (@rhysam) August 24, 2018

And he wasn’t about to let the moment for some time in the spotlight slip by.

“We have lost the Prime Minister, there is a government to save,” the former PM said.

“That’s what all of us will do our best to do now, to save the government.

“As we have been reminding ourselves, we are the custodians of great logical traditions.

“The Liberal tradition of smaller government, greater freedom, lower taxes, the conservative traditional support for families, small business and values and institutions that have stood the rich test of time, but above all we are patriots, we want to make sure the country is strong and as good as it possibly can be, based on the wonderful achievements we already have to our name.”

Well thanks for that, Tone.

Good to see Liberal values are now front and centre for you.

Of course Mr Abbott also said this when he lost the Liberal leadership to Malcolm Turnbull back in 2015.

‘Kev, should I say a few words or not?’

“There will be no wrecking, no undermining, and no sniping. I’ve never leaked or backgrounded against anyone. And I certainly won’t start now,” Mr Abbott said.

And yet for months Mr Abbott has been at the centre of sniping and backbiting from the backbench, not just openly criticising decisions made by Mr Turnbull but behind the scenes working to turn the tide on his Prime Ministership.

The hypocrisy is breathtaking.

Mr Abbott has spent that last three years creating division in the party he professes to love so much; acting in a way far removed from the value he believes the party holds.

Rather than trying to save his government, Mr Abbott bitched bitterly from the back room and worked to bring Mr Turnbull down.

Mr Abbott’s hypocritical comments today only reinforce why Mr Turnbull was right to take a dig at the Member for Warringah yesterday.

When asked if he would stay on as Wentworth MP Mr Turnbull had this biting response — aimed directly at Mr Abbott.

“No I made it very clear that I believe former prime ministers are best out of the Parliament and I don’t think there’s much evidence to suggest that that conclusion isn’t correct,” he said.

Mr Abbott didn’t get Mr Dutton as PM as he wanted. But he can finally be happy he has helped remove the man who knocked him from the top job three years ago.

The self-centred bitterness is the greatest reminder of why he deserved to lose the highest job in the first place.

Let’s see if Mr Abbott can now find a way to actually work towards being one of the “custodians of great logical traditions”.

But two former Liberal MPs who have worked with Mr Abbott doubt that.

Speaking after the spill, former Liberal frontbencher Amanda Vanstone told ABC: “All I can tell you is my own experience of Abbott is whatever you do with him, unless he gets his way he’ll be disruptive.

“That’s my own experience of him. My personal view is putting him in any ministerial position doesn’t mean he’ll be a team player unless he gets what he wants.

It’s up to them to decide whether they can cope with that or not. That’s their decision, not mine.”

It was something backed up by former Liberal leader John Hewson.

“He’s got one goal, which is to get back to the Prime Ministership even though he’s made some smooth sort of statements coming out of the room today, it sounds pretty much like, ‘I won’t snipe, I won’t undermine’, the sort of commitment he’s made once before,” he told ABC.

A minister’s position seems a crazy reward for someone who has had a major role in bringing his party to its knees.