Peter Dutton with the Liberals’ candidate for Aston,Roshena Campbell.Credit:Joe Armao
Two of them opposed any switch to Ley and two welcomed it. None of those MPs said a change was likely or imminent,just that it was being discussed.
Conservative,Dutton-supporting MPs said that Ley had been taking soundings from the backbench for weeks,but they rubbished the prospect of the Liberal moderate becoming the party’s leader.
However,an MP who is not from Dutton’s conservative faction said that “the only person who can win the next election is Sussan,but it’s a tiny chance”.
Dutton and Ley’s office were both approached with the same information about leadership discussions in Liberal Party ranks and both declined to comment.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is viewed as a potential successor to Peter Dutton among some Liberal Party figures.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The opposition leader told radio station 2GB that Campbell would be a fantastic local member for Aston and that the controversy in the Victorian state Liberal Party over the attempt by state opposition leader John Pesutto to expel MP Moira Deeming had been “frustrating”.
“I think the opportunity here for people in Aston is to elect a good representative. They know they’re not going to change the government in a byelection and I think it’s an opportunity to send the government a message,” he said.
A Labor campaign flyer circulating in the seat targets Dutton,claiming the Liberal leader was “rejected by his own party as leader,twice” and “now he’s the leader of Morrison’s Liberal leftovers”.
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Dutton only stood for leadership of the Liberals once before,during the 2018 leadership spill,when he ran against Malcolm Turnbull but was ultimately bested by Scott Morrison.
Strategists from both major parties believe that the rising cost of living is a key issue in the byelection but agree that voters are not yet blaming the Albanese government for this.
Labor has not polled in Aston since early in the campaign,indicating that the party believes victory may be a bridge too far.
In 2018,the so-called super Saturday of five byelections caused by the dual-citizenship crisis was a major test of former Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten,who had Albanese breathing down his neck.
Similarly,Albanese needed to acquit himself during the Eden-Monaro by-election of 2020. Both men secured the victories they needed to remain in the top opposition job.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley.Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.