Adem Somyurek branch stacking sacking scandal: Drive-by political hit a whodunit

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces that he has sacked Adem Somyurek from cabinet and had moved for him to be removed from the Labor Party.

Adem Somyurek is the victim of a political drive-by shooting.

Before we get too deep into this scandal, some of what he said on the tapes was poor and indefensible.

But the deeper question for a party that majors in sexism and foul language is who killed Somyurek and why?

His defrocking was months in the making, carefully choreographed to derail his career and suck some of the power away from the right-dominated political alliance Somyurek had formed in Victoria.

The scandal last night led to another state minister — Robin Scott — quitting cabinet, further undermining the right’s influence.

Friends of Somyurek say that while he is a tenacious political activist he can be prone to naivety.

Labor people have known for months that Somyurek was the subject of an inside hit job and sources have told The Australian that much of the criticism of his methods came from Canberra.

That basically key parts of Labor’s left and the disaffected right have concluded that the ALP will be in the wilderness federally at least for the next election and the factional priority is to strip as much power as possible from Somyurek and his people.

What remains of the Somyurek Victorian right is demanding that Anthony Albanese explain exactly what he knew and when about the leaking of the tapes.

This becomes even more important given the alleged role of Labor backbencher Anthony Byrne’s office in the sting.

There is no concrete evidence to suggest his office was behind it, or that Byrne was complicit in the scandal, but the questions are fair.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media on Monday.

The Premier moved swiftly to sack Adem Somyurek from cabinet.

Especially given that some of the footage appears to have been taken in his office.

Byrne, it must be said, would have to be a total dope to have sanctioned the recording of Somyurek in his own office and he was being backed by the Victorian right leader.

Equally, it seems implausible that Victorian Premier Dan Andrews would have act against Somyurek on Monday based solely on media reports.

For someone who didn’t know until Sunday night about the Somyurek set up, Andrews acted very swiftly and stridently indeed.

It’s clear in all of this that Somyurek must take responsibility for his own words and actions.

But both Albanese and Andrews risk being dragged into two police investigations and an anti-corruption inquiry, which will drag on for months if not years.

Victoria Police will have no option but to investigate, raising the spectre of an inquiry into the actions of the office of a federal Labor MP.

And Somyurek, until Monday the leader of the Victorian right, may well feel the need to spill the beans on the innermost workings of the ALP.

There have been at least four unauthorised tapes since 2013 of Victorian political figures, starting with the recording that killed Ted Baillieu, the recording of former Liberal state director Damien Mantach at a branch meeting, leaked newspaper recordings of off the record political conversations and now the Somyurek tapes.

A close contact of mine constantly tells me that we are being taped.

Watch what you say, he says.

Which seems so Orwellian and paranoid as to be ridiculous.

But sometimes paranoia is justified.

Just ask Adem Somyurek.