Turnbull pledges no challenge to Abbott

This video is quite amusing. Polls in Australia show that voters wants Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull to lead their respective parties. An audience member notes that both are successful, very wealthy, and popular (except with their colleagues) and urges them to set up their own political party. Turnbull says he is committed to the Liberals. Rudd jokes that he and Malcolm could never agree on the leadership 🙂

The Australian reports:

The former Liberal leader is making it clear there will be no challenge for the leadership before the next election and that his aim is to be a senior, influential member of the Coalition cabinet should Tony Abbott win government, The Australian reports.

After months of co-operation between the former opposition leader and the man who replaced him after the party division over the carbon emissions trading scheme in 2009, a new stability and certainty is emerging within the senior Coalition ranks.

As Labor uses Mr Turnbull’s standing with voters to try to drive a wedge into the Liberals, Mr Abbott and Mr Turnbull have been in “close and regular personal contact” co-ordinating how to handle the prickly political issues of Mr Abbott’s defeat of Mr Turnbull as Liberal leader, Mr Turnbull’s continuing popular appeal, policy differences over carbon pricing and Julia Gillard’s campaign against Mr Abbott. …

There’s a lesson here for some parties in NZ.  Abbott did not get spooked by Tunrbull’s popularity and authorise a whispering campaign against him. He talked to him on a regular basis to make sure he was confident he had a key role to play going forward.