March 7, 2013 3:00pm by David Farrar

The fall of Ballieu

Former opposition leader Denis Napthine is the state’s new Premier after Ted Baillieu resigned under internal pressure and after the shock resignation of embattled MP Geoff Shaw.

Mr Shaw, who is facing a police probe for misuse of his government car, quit the parliamentary Liberal Party on Wednesday morning, kickstarting a frenzy on Spring Street that reached fever pitch just before 7pm after he finally released a statement.

“I believe my actions reflect the general loss of confidence Victorians are feeling in the leadership of the government,” Mr Shaw said.

Nonsense. Shaw is a rorting MP who has been caught out.

The Baillieu government had been rocked by scandal this week over fresh revelations regarding Tristan Weston, the former police adviser to Deputy Premier Peter Ryan, and secret recordings of conversations he had with Mr Baillieu’s chief of staff, Tony Nutt, and Liberal Party state director Damian Mantach.

Mr Baillieu referred the case to the new Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

Facing poor polls for nearly a year, leadership speculation has been bubbling, with Planning Minister Matthew Guy most often named as the next in line.

A poll last June had the Coalition on 52% and Labor 48% in Victoria. But Baillieu had poor personal ratings at 29% positive and 54% negative.