Early contenders for the Liberal leadership are emerging after Peter Dutton’s shock defeat left a vacuum at the head of the party.
Dutton became the first opposition leader to lose his seat in a federal election, while a host of frontbench colleagues were also booted from parliament in a humbling night for the Liberals.
The coalition suffered a negative 3.2 percent swing on Saturday night, with senior MPs, such as Michael Sukkar and David Coleman, also set to lose their seats.
The two front-runners that have emerged from the rubble are Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor and Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie, who both defied the trend, increasing their margins by the time counting ceased.
Taylor is the most senior remaining Liberal and has long been considered a potential future leader.
But he is seen by his opponents as a weak communicator and an easy target in parliament.
His political sparring partner, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, laid much of the blame for the Coalition’s poor performance at Taylor’s feet.
“I don’t intend to dance on Peter Dutton’s grave, but I think the big missing part of the story we’re talking about tonight is Angus Taylor,” Chalmers said.
“So many of the issues that the Liberal campaign had, can be traced back to Angus.
“Peter Dutton did not have a good campaign, but the main alternative, Angus Taylor, arguably had a campaign which was at least as bad, if not worse.”
Meanwhile, Hastie had an awkward campaign, facing questions over historical comments he made, saying women shouldn’t be allowed in frontline combat roles, contradicting party policy.
Liberal Senator for Western Australia Michaelia Cash saw him as “leadership material.”
“When you look at his background—former SAS—he is someone who comes with a great pedigree,” she told Channel Seven.
“He is someone that works, he does not take one vote for granted in that seat.”
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Dan Tehan, who is set to head off a challenge from independent Alex Dyson, are among the other senior MPs who kept their seats.
