Acting PM Michael McCormack looks set to hold on

Some of Nats leader Michael McCormack’s greatest detractors now concede he will lead the party to the next election.

Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack in Wagga Wagga before he embarked on a regional tour to discuss the COVID-19 economic recovery. Picture: Brad Newman

Nationals leader Michael McCormack appears to have survived a destabilisation campaign, with some of his greatest detractors now privately conceding he will lead the party to the next election.

Several of Mr McCormack’s political foes, who spoke to The Australian on the condition of anonymity, said they did not think there would be another spill against the Deputy Prime Minister in the near future after he survived a challenge moved by Queensland MP Llew O’Brien in February last year.

However, they disputed the Nationals leader’s claims the party was united and said Mr McCormack had missed an opportunity to appease some of his opponents through a reshuffle last month.

In an interview with The Australian as he began official duties as Acting Prime Minister for one week, Mr McCormack defended his leadership style and said the Nationals party would always be a broad church in which all opinions were respected.

He insisted the junior Coalition party would do well at the next election, expected as early as August, because of his leadership — and he said that his team was united behind a drive to help ­regional Australia.

“I didn’t think I was a bad leader before then (the leadership challenge),” Mr McCormack said.

“We did very well in the last election and I think because of the delivery we’ve done and the leadership I’ve shown, we will do well in the next election.”

Mr McCormack said he would not move to expel MPs for stirring internal divisions.

“If somebody bucks the trend or says something publicly that isn’t the general view of the party, I don’t say to them ‘you’re expelled from the party now’, that’s not the National Party way,” he said.

But some among the party’s ranks said support for Mr McCormack’s leadership was fractured.

“Make no mistake, the party is split into two factions,” one said.

“McCormack made a big one (mistake) with his frontbench. The No 1 rule in politics is having some opponents in that position. (Anthony) Albanese has (Bill) Shorten on his frontbench; (Bob) Hawke had (Paul) Keating. McCormack just has his mates.”

Another MP offered the same analysis, saying Mr McCormack was his own worst enemy when it came to his cabinet choices.

“If you look at Scott (Morrison) at the make-up of his cabinet team it’s a pretty wise structure. I think you look at what Michael has done by freezing out some pretty good talent — there has been a lot of chatter about that,” they said.

They conceded that while Nationals MPs such as former leader Barnaby Joyce may be waiting in the wings, their gut feeling was that he would stay on.

“I don’t think Barnaby is going anywhere,” they said. “I don’t think he is front and centre of everyone’s minds, but when you have a guy with that level of energy and enthusiasm, you want to keep him busy.”

Another MP said that while they believed the party needed stronger leadership than what Mr McCormack offered, they wanted the Nationals to succeed on key ­issues for regional Australia.

“Hopefully he can do that,” they said, adding it was a “50-50 chance” whether Mr McCormack would cling on to the top job in the lead-up to the next federal poll.

Mr McCormack’s leadership was undermined throughout last year and some senior Nationals were expecting a challenge before Christmas.

The Nationals leader said he would always have colleagues who wanted to be in higher office and it would be sad if MPs toed the party line.