Victorian Libs begin search for new president after Kroger quits

Josh Frydenberg has spent the weekend trying to find a successor for state Liberal Party president Michael Kroger.

Former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger. Picture: David Caird

Josh Frydenberg has spent the weekend talking to state and federal Liberals in Victoria in a bid to find a successor for state Liberal Party president Michael Kroger after his sudden resignation on Friday, but a consensus candidate is yet to be found.

The Australian understands priority is being given to finding a candidate devoid of factional baggage, with a degree of experience in federal campaigns who can raise funds.

With nominations set to be declared open in coming days and candidates likely to be given a fortnight to nominate before Liberal Party state council votes for the president, several people have ruled themselves out of contention for the voluntary position that can involve up to 60 hours a week of unpaid work.

Some of the names being considered include: Baillieu government attorney-general Robert Clark; Marcia Coleman, a longstanding Liberal Party committee member and wife of Kennett government minister Geoff Coleman; and Margaret Fitzherbert, who lost her upper house seat in last week’s state election defeat and who has written two books on the history of women in the Liberal Party.

Former South Australian senator Nick Minchin, who has moved to Victoria in recent years, has ruled out running for the job, as has Howard and Abbott government minister Bruce Billson.

Mr Clark lost his seat of Box Hill in last week’s state election, having been a state MP since 1988.

He is understood to be interested in the role and to have strong support from a number of state MPs who believe he could work well with the man most likely to succeed Matthew Guy as opposition leader, Treasury spokesman Michael O’Brien.

“The party’s become lawless and we desperately need someone like a former attorney-general to bring good governance and unity back,” one Victorian Liberal said.

However, federal Liberals say that ahead of a May election, the priority needs to be finding someone with federal campaign ­experience.

Ms Coleman has been talked up as someone who has been a party member for more than 30 years, served on numerous party committees, chaired hospital and charity boards and raised millions of dollars for palliative care.

“She’s been around politics for a very long time and knows how to run campaigns and raise money,” one of Ms Coleman’s supporters said.

Ms Fitzherbert has previously worked as a federal staffer and at Liberal CHQ during the 1998 federal election.

Many Victorian Liberals said it would be preferable to find a female candidate if the right person could be persuaded to nominate, given the struggles the party has had in attracting and retaining ­female MPs.

One Victorian Liberal summed up the difficulty the party was having finding an eligible candidate by pointing to the voluntary nature of the role.

“It’s an unpaid full-time job where you inevitably end up building a long list of people who don’t like you,” the Liberal said.

“You might give it to your worst enemy, but maybe not your ­second-worst.”