To be or not to be: Julie ‘Lady Macbeth’ Bishop was the voters’ pick
Julie Bishop’s enemies in the Liberal Party call her the “cockroach” because for 11 years she has survived as deputy to four leaders: Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott and Turnbull again.
In 2015 when she marched into Abbott’s office to tell him he’d lost the backing of his MPs, those who believed she had been disloyal to the deposed PM came up with another disparaging epithet: Lady Macbeth. Bishop publicly laughed that one off. And today, if she can scramble enough votes to contest the leadership ballot, she may have the last laugh.
LIVE: Follow the latest developments in our PoliticsNow blog.
An uncomfortable fact for backers of Peter Dutton and other Liberal leadership aspirants is that Bishop, a moderate, is the most popular of the lot among voters. If electeded leader, she would’ve posed the most serious threat to Bill Shorten’s hopes of taking The Lodge.
A Newspoll late last year showed her ahead of Turnbull as preferred Liberal leader. She was on 40 per cent, Turnbull on 27 per cent and Dutton was well back on 11 per cent. The Australian understands that in her pitch to colleagues, Bishop told them she won’t be “another man’s deputy”.
Bishop, 62, has now amassed five years as Foreign Minister — her “dream job” — and there is almost universal agreement that she has handled the role with competence and toughness, particularly in her dressing down of Russia over the MH17 disaster.
With her proclivity for designer suits and A-list social events alongside her handsome boyfriend, property developer David Panton, the former corporate lawyer also brings a touch of glamour to the often grey world of politics.
“You’ve heard it straight from the horse’s mouth — by tomorrow at lunchtime, Julie Bishop will definitely be prime minister,” he told the Herald Sun at a Myer runway event last night.
When asked what he would be called as the “first man” he replied: “Just call me David”.
Politics has not always been kind to Bishop, whose electorate of Curtin, in Perth’s west, ranks as one of the nation’s safest Liberal seats. In 2009, as opposition Treasury spokeswoman, she stumbled badly, being unable to name the official cash rate during a radio interview.
She has since tried to soften her image, appearing on morning TV, tweeting in emojis and joking about her infamous “death stare”.
WHO IS JULIE BISHOP?
* Born July 17, 1956 in Lobethal, South Australia
* Divorced, but in long term relationship with David Panton. No children
* Often referred to as JBish
* Known for her sharp style, steely stare and fitness, taking daily runs even when travelling overseas
* Also renowned as a great campaigner and fundraiser within the Liberal party
* Well-regarded on the world stage and took a major role after the MH17 atrocity
* Studied law at Adelaide University
* Did the advanced management program at Harvard Business School
* Managing partner at Clayton Utz law firm in Perth, 1994-98
* Elected as the federal member for Curtin in 1998
* First appointed to the frontbench by John Howard in 2003 when made minister for ageing.
* Served as Education, Science and Training Minister (2006-2007)
* Foreign Affairs Minister since 2013
* Deputy Liberal leader since November 29, 2007, serving alongside Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull
* Deputy Opposition Leader 2007-2013
* Holds the very safe Perth-based seat of Curtin with a margin of 18.2 per cent.
More Coverage
Women egged in anti-Semitic attack at Bondi Beach
Three men allegedly set upon a number of women on Saturday night in Sydney's east, throwing eggs at them, with police believing they were targeted because of the clothes they were wearing.
Nation ‘must not go down road’ of faith-based parties: PM
Parties founded on religion would undermine social cohesion, according to Anthony Albanese, as he reminded rogue senator Fatima Payman that she owed her election to Labor pre-selection.