God will know His own? Hastie says he’s the Lord’s pick

And Bob Carr keeps seeing West Bank settlements where there are none.

Conservative MP Andrew Hastie has Malcolm Turnbull’s back and so does ... God? 6PR, yesterday:

He is the Prime Minister under God — I consider that a sacred office and I would be loath to push a spill motion.

Has Hastie left the Deplorable Order of St Tony? The Australian, yesterday:

A group of conservative Liberal MPs calling themselves “the deplorables” held regular phone hook-ups after last year’s close election result to co-ordinate a strategy to attack Malcolm Turnbull on several policy fronts ... The other MPs involved included ... Andrew Hastie ...

He’s converted. 6PR, yesterday:

I’ve always expressed my loyalty to Malcolm Turnbull.

Will the Lord smite the press gallery? The PM in Canberra, yesterday:

You are much more entertained by conflict and personalities than you are by jobs.

They weren’t asking him about the Oscars ... The Australian, yesterday:

The Coalition has taken a battering from voters amid deepening tensions between Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, with the government trailing Labor by 45 to 55 per cent in two-party terms as the Prime Minister suffers another blow to his personal standing.

Eight Newspolls down, 22 to go. God be with you, Mal. Canberra, September 15, 2015:

We have lost 30 Newspolls in a row. It is clear that the people have made up their mind about Mr Abbott’s ­leadership.

Tony Abbott is not in the PM’s prayers. Canberra, yesterday:

Malcolm Turnbull: We saw an outburst on Thursday and it had its desired impact on the Newspoll. It was exactly as predicted and as calculated.

Journalist: You’re suggesting that that is why Tony Abbott — you’re suggesting that is the reason Tony Abbott did this?

Malcolm Turnbull: As I said, he knew exactly what he was doing and he did it.

And Bob Carr’s West Bank settlement senses are tingling. Sunday Agenda, Sky News:

Trump gets elected President and suddenly Netanyahu, who’s been living with somewhat of a settlement freeze, announces thousands of new settlements.

They’re not building new settlements, just recognising homes ­already there. ABC News, February 7, 2016:

Israel’s parliament has passed a law allowing about 4000 settler homes to remain on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The law retroactively gives legal status to the homes, but the measure could be struck down by the Supreme Court.

So what should Bibi Netanyahu do, Bob? Sunday Agenda, continued:

He should behave like his predecessor Prime Minister Olmert ...

Netanyahu should go to jail? Haaretz, September 28, 2016:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected former prime minister Ehud Olmert’s appeal against his conviction in the “cash envelopes” affair in which he accepted cash-filled envelopes from American Jewish businessman Morris Talansky. Olmert will thus serve another eight months in prison, on top of the 19 months he is serving for his bribery conviction in the Holyland corruption affair — ­involving the construction of a luxury apartment complex in Jerusalem.