Liberals plunged into new civil war — and retributions have only just begun

The way they were ... Christopher Pyne with then-prime minister Tony Abbott back in May 2015.

Strap yourselves in for a new outbreak of nastiness and retribution.

The long-simmering tensions inside the Liberal Party have today burst into a new round of civil war which is increasing the chances of delivering government to the Labor Party.

The new controversy involving Christopher Pyne has re-opened the deepest wound inside the Liberal Party — between Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.

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In secretly-recorded comments in Sydney on Friday night, Pyne boasted to a group of moderates in the Liberal Party: “Friends, we are in the winners’ circle but we have to deliver a couple of things and one of those we’ve got to deliver before too long is marriage equality in this country.

“We’re going to get it. I think it might even be sooner than everyone thinks. And your friends in Canberra are working on that outcome.”

This is the last thing Malcolm Turnbull needs.

He came out quickly today to try to argue that there was no change to the policy.

Which raises another question.

When Pyne says “your friends in Canberra are working on that outcome”, either he is misleading those he is trying to ingratiate himself with, or Turnbull is misleading people when he suggests there is no move to change the policy.

There is a third possibility, of course — that there are moves of which Turnbull is not aware.

That would raise a question — how in control is Turnbull of his party?

In his Friday night comments, Pyne also said he had always been loyal to Malcolm Turnbull.

“Two years ago … Malcolm Turnbull was the communications minister and now he’s the Prime Minister,” he said.

“I would say that our fortunes are pretty good at the moment. And most of your senior cabinet ministers — George Brandis, Marise Payne, yours truly — quite a few of us are very senior ministers in a Turnbull government.

“Now there was a time when people said it wouldn’t happen, but George (Brandis) and I kept the faith.

“We voted for Malcolm Turnbull in every ballot he’s ever been in.”

Abbott quickly hit back, using his regular fortnightly spot with Ray Hadley on Sydney’s 2GB to attack Pyne’s “confession” that he had supported Malcolm Turnbull at all times.

Abbott said: “If you are a member of the cabinet, you’ve got to be loyal.

“Christopher Pyne was not just a member of my cabinet, he was actually in the leadership team and it’s important you show loyalty.

“If he’s to be believed on Friday night, that loyalty was never there, which is incredibly disappointing.”

To understand this new outbreak of hostilities one needs to understand that the relationship between Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne is probably the most poisonous political relationship in the country

Of all those who turned against him, Abbott holds a special place in his heart for Christopher “I’m the Fixer” Pyne.

The day before Abbott’s Prime Ministership was ambushed, he sat down with Pyne.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and they sat in a private corner of the rarefied atmosphere of the Adelaide Club.

There were growing rumblings about Abbott’s leadership, but Abbott wanted to speak in confidence to Pyne.

After all, they’d been up-and-comers in the Liberal Party for 25 years.,

Abbott regarded Pyne as one of his closest friends in politics.

Abbott as Prime Minister had been good to Pyne — he’d ensured he was part of his leadership group.

Pyne was one of Abbott’s three or four closest confidants and had benefitted greatly from Abbott’s rise to the Prime Ministership.

According to the Abbott camp, on that Sunday afternoon Pyne reassured Abbott that his leadership was safe.

As a result of that, Abbott walked out of the Adelaide Club with a level of comfort.

Next day Pyne joined Julie Bishop and others in the political assassination of a first-term Prime Minister, setting off a dynamic which would return over and over, like Banquo’s Ghost.

And so with revelation of the tape on which Pyne was confirming essentially what Abbott has been saying for months — that the Liberal Party has been hijacked by the Left within the party — Abbott feels vindicated.

There’s a good chance that Tony Abbott is today the happiest man in Australia.

One thing that Abbott cannot abide is disloyalty.

Of all the things that his critics have levelled against him, disloyalty cannot be one of them.

In fact, it’s arguable that Abbott’s loyalty to two of his inner circle — Treasurer Joe Hockey and his chief of staff Peta Credlin — was a reason many of his colleagues moved against him.

Christopher Pyne likes to boast. He boasted that he was “the fixer.” He has now boasted that he and his team are in “the winners’ circle.”

The only person in the winners’ circle right now is Bill Shorten.