Michael McCormack is finished as Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister

Michael McCormack is now hostage to any accident, misadventure or plot that throws his leadership into doubt. Picture: Gary Ramage

For more than a year, Michael McCormack has been a dead man walking. Now he’s getting to the end of the Green Mile.

Whether it’s an empty chair or electric chair challenge, the Deputy Prime Minister and his leadership of the Nationals is ­finished.

Barnaby Joyce. Picture Kym Smith

Citing Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership difficulties is not an ­argument, it’s a concession.

McCormack is declaring that he will not give in to the threats from Barnaby Joyce and David Littleproud, and will not bring on a leadership ballot. But the political reality is that it is now beyond McCormack’s control and no longer within the remit of Scott Morrison, as Liberal leader, to protect his favoured Coalition partner.

More than a year a go, The Australian reported there was an expectation within the National Party leadership that McCormack would go voluntarily.

There was no doubt the Liberal leadership preferred McCormack to the two obvious successors – a recycled Barnaby Joyce and an ambitious David Littleproud – but McCormack refused to reach out to disenfranchised colleagues.

He may be right in saying any leadership spill or no-confidence motion will be to clear the air and will force others to assess their own “futures”. He could very well survive because there has been no clear accretion of the numbers around a single potential successor.

David Littleproud. Picture: Gary Ramage

But this is the same shortsighted view that made McCormack think he could backtrack on his clear indication he’d bail out and allow an orderly transition.

McCormack is now hostage to any accident, misadventure or plot that throws his leadership into doubt. He can’t dictate the terms. It’s understandable leaders think they are doing well and that they should hang on.

Last week’s parliamentary performance from McCormack as acting PM was not the disaster his critics make out, but he is blind to the perception on his own side, ­regardless of Labor’s failure to take advantage of the Prime Minister’s absence.

But Monday’s partyroom meeting will put the focus back on the Deputy Prime Minister and the Nationals no matter what McCormack says.

The Coalition will want this out of the public eye no matter what the outcome, electric chair or empty chair.