National Party has form for Liberal leadership meddling

The National Party has a long history of intervening in the leadership decisions of its Coalition partner.

Earle Page led the Country Party from 1921 to 1939.

The Nationals have a long history of intervening in the leadership decisions of their Coalition partner. So it should come as no surprise that Darren Chester and other Nat­ionals MPs are contemplating not supporting Peter Dutton if he seizes the Liberal leadership.

“There’s no reason why any ­potential challenger, whoever that may be, should assume that they can command numbers on the floor of the House of Represen­tatives,” Chester said yesterday.

This makes the prospect of a Dutton prime ministership high risk, given the government survives with only a one-seat majority.

Earle Page, who led the Country Party from 1921 to 1939, used his authority to topple Billy ­Hughes as leader of the Nationalist Party after the 1922 election and install Stanley Bruce.

Page would not serve in a ­coalition led by ­Hughes.

A decade later, Page initially ­refused to serve in coalition with the United Australia Party led by Joe Lyons. Page also tried to persuade Bruce to return from his post as high commissioner in London to succeed Lyons.

When Lyons died in 1939, Page manoeuvred to have himself sworn in as prime minister. He then tried to stop Robert Menzies becoming UAP leader and therefore prime minister. The Country Party again initially refused to serve in a government led by ­Menzies.

Although Menzies became UAP leader, this did not stop Page. He continued to press Bruce, still in London, to return to Australia and reclaim the prime ministership. Page even said he would ­vacate his seat of Cowper for Bruce. Page trashed Menzies in a legendary speech saying he was not fit to be prime minister.

John McEwen, Country Party leader from 1958 to 1971, slapped a veto on Billy McMahon succeeding Harold Holt as Liberal leader and prime minister in 1967.

This was a bold intervention into the ­affairs of the larger ­coalition party but McMahon had no option but to accept it.

There have been other splits. The coalition was broken after the 1972 election when Liberal leader Billy Snedden thought he could go it alone without Doug Anthony’s Country Party. The push to make Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen prime minister during 1987 split the coalition and helped destroy John Howard’s chances of winning government.

Independent MPs are another threat to Dutton. Andrew Wilkie (Tasmania) will not guarantee supply or confidence to a Dutton-led government. Rebekha Sharkie (South Australia) and Cathy McGowan (Victoria) also have doubts about Dutton. So any move to make him Liberal leader risks plunging the Coalition into minority government and, quite possibly, with the loss of confidence.