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Make no mistake,Pesutto entered Monday’s meeting adamant no compromise could be reached and that Deeming had to be expelled. He was the one who called the meeting,spoke in favour of the motion and failed to soften his stance despite some last-minute secret concessions by Deeming made on Monday morning.

But it appears his mood changed when he realised the numbers weren't going his way.

Liberal MP Sam Groth’s last-minute decision to leave Fiji to attend the meeting was the “canary in the coal mine” moment,signalling Pesutto’s push to expel Deeming was in doubt. But even Groth’s four-hour mercy mission from a tropical resort to rainy Melbourne wasn’t enough to save Pesutto from an embarrassing backflip when he realised he’d promised to do something he couldn’t deliver

Those in the meeting say contributions from MPs including Kim Wells,Joe McCracken and Richard Riordan (among others) rattled the confidence of the leadership team,who knew a loss would be viewed as a proxy no-confidence vote. Their main concern was that the leadership group hadn’t made a case for change and Deeming was guilty only of association.

But it was a highly emotive,and unexpected,personal account from Deeming that forced Pesutto – and many others who were previously in favour of the expulsion – to back down.

Pesutto did not reveal the content of the personal account to the media,instead insisting he changed his mind after Deeming condemned the anti-trans rights activists she attended a rally and post-rally meeting with,after previously only condemning the Nazis who gatecrashed the event.

But the voting public is unlikely to see any condemnation;we just have to trust that the tut-tut was made.

He may have found an outcome that was backed by the party room,but this saga was a mess of Pesutto’s own making.

Driven by a desire to make the Victorian Liberal Party appear progressive and mainstream,he and his leadership team pushed ahead with the expulsion vote without questioning whether it would be supported by the party room.

Their brash approach simply elevated the brand and amplified the views ofanti-trans rights activists, who had rarely had much coverage away from the fringes.

The backflip has only highlighted Pesutto’s vulnerability as leader and turned Deeming into a martyr in conservative circles.

Ultimately,Deeming's personal story and promise to learn from the experience swayed her colleagues.

Pesutto said the compromise showed he was “reasonable and sensible”,and that he had “unanimous support of the party room”. In reality,he had no other option if he wanted to stay in the role.

The nine-day saga has sucked up airtime,engulfed Canberra and exposed tensions in the opposition.

As one former Liberal MP complained after Monday’s chaos:“After NSW[and] this train wreck,they should forget using consultants for a review of the Liberal Party ... best they call in Tobin Brothers.”

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