After insurgency, surgical strikes and self-detonated bombs, is the era of assassins over?
Dumbstruck at disloyalty. Malcolm Turnbull, Guardian Australia, August 24:
Australians will be … dumbstruck and so appalled by the conduct of the last week … to imagine that a government would be rocked by this sort of disloyalty and deliberate … insurgency.
Dumbstruck at disloyalty? Niki Savva, The Australian, August 25:
Malcolm Turnbull’s coup against Tony Abbott in 2015 was an elaborate, surgical strike. It took months to plan.
Wreckers created chaos. Turnbull, Guardian Australia, August 24:
Insofar as there has been chaos this week, it has been created by the wreckers.
Wreckers created chaos? Sam Langford, Junkee, August 21:
Today, it was Malcolm Turnbull who declared that the leadership of the Liberal Party was vacant, and called a vote on who would fill it … you may be wondering: why was Malcolm Turnbull the one to call the spill … it seems like a very silly thing to do …
Who thought the spill was a good idea? Phillip Coorey, The Australian Financial Review, August 26:
Dutton forces … claim (Scott) Morrison orchestrated the whole thing, that he urged Turnbull to call the spill on Tuesday to blow himself up and let Morrison come up the middle. Morrison’s people deny this, as does the Turnbull camp. Both say Morrison was unaware that Turnbull was going to call the spill … (But) the Morrison backer … agrees that Turnbull did the right thing to call the Tuesday ballot.
Another meeting? Why? Turnbull, Guardian Australia, August 24:
There was a leadership ballot on Tuesday … so it was reasonable for me to say, “If you want to call another party meeting, you better tell me why, show me evidence that a majority want to do that.”
Why? For Brendan? For Tony? Sam Clench, news.com.au, August 26:
Warren Entsch effectively ended … Turnbull’s political career when he added his name to the list of MPs requesting a second partyroom meeting … underneath … (he) scrawled … “For Brendan Nelson” … “Turnbull pledged his loyalty to Nelson but gave him absolutely none … the undermining began immediately,” Paddy Manning wrote in his biography of Mr Turnbull … Turnbull played a longer game when Mr Abbott became leader, but again, actively agitated against him. There was never any question he would seek to seize the top job.
For the polls? Peter Hartcher, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 19:
An exclusive Fairfax-Ipsos poll shows the Coalition has suffered a horror slump in its primary vote from 39 to 33 per cent over the past month … the Coalition now trails Labor by 45 to 55 per cent in two-party terms …
He’s from Queensland, he’s here to help! Kevin Rudd tweets, August 24:
For the nation’s good, I’d urge Liberal Party to adopt a rule change to prevent rolling political chaos.
No thanks! Dana McCauley, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 26:
“I don’t think changing the rules is a good idea,” Mr Howard said of Kevin Rudd’s suggestion …
Just one more assassination? Tony Abbott, Sydney’s 2GB, August 22:
I want the era of the political assassin (to) end — but I also want to see the best possible government.
OK, let’s call it quits. Abbott, 2GB, August 27:
The era of the political assassin is over, and thank God for that.