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Re: fuagf post# 287302

Thursday, 08/23/2018 5:19:26 AM

Thursday, August 23, 2018 5:19:26 AM

Post# of 574946
Malcolm Turnbull: Australia PM gives ultimatum to leadership rivals

"Update: Reportedly Dutton has the numbers (now) but does not actually have the 43 required signatures on the petition." Add: last heard he had 40, of 43 required. Also, if Turnbull, gets the list(petition), and so calls a party meeting; and if a vote of no confidence is put and passed, he will not stand for reelection. Them, with the reported late entry of Julie Bishop into the race (present foreign minister), there would be a 3-way contest between Bishop, Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison, not isolated opinions suggesting the farthest-right of the three, Dutton, losing out, with either of the moderate Turnbull backers, Bishop or Morrison, getting up to win. Turnbull tactics to keep Dutton out just may work.

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Insert: [3 days ago] Is there a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Turnbull?


ABC News (Australia)
Published on Aug 20, 2018

Will Malcolm Turnbull face a leadership challenge? Fran Kelly got two perspectives on Monday morning - one from the backbench, and one from the front.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UAxWd-Gj04
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1 hour ago

VIDEO, lolol, you gotta hear the catdhy music in this one. It's short - Australia's struggle to keep a PM on board

Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull has stared down calls for his resignation amid an escalating leadership crisis that has crippled his government.

Mr Turnbull is fighting to retain his position amid a push by senior colleagues to replace him as leader.

But he has said he would not contest the leadership if his rivals in the Liberal Party secure enough support to bring on an internal vote.

The government suspended parliament on Thursday to try to resolve the crisis.

Mr Turnbull told reporters that Australians would be "rightly appalled by what they are witnessing in their nation's parliament today".

What position is the PM in?

Mr Turnbull has vowed to hold a party meeting on Friday to see if he is still supported by a majority of MPs.

If his rival Peter Dutton produces a letter with sufficient signatures, Mr Turnbull has said he will vacate the leadership.



Reuters/EPA
Peter Dutton (left) and Scott Morrison (right) are Mr Turnbull's most likely challengers

That would bring on a leadership contest. In that situation, Australian media say Mr Dutton could face off with Treasurer Scott Morrison.

Mr Turnbull has said he would not run.

Why has his party turned on him?

Mr Turnbull has endured poor opinion polls, losses in recent by-elections, and a revolt by the conservative wing of his party.

Internal rumblings came to a head in a debate about energy and climate change policy - polarising issues for his centre-right coalition.

* The ex-policeman trying to oust Australia's PM
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-45254762

* Coup capital of the democratic world
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34249214

* Australia PM fails own popularity yardstick
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-43663973

In an attempt to appease conservatives on Monday, Mr Turnbull abandoned plans to set an emissions target .. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-45242806 in legislation.

But it made little difference: Mr Dutton launched a leadership challenge a day later .. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42151763 . Although Mr Turnbull won, the narrow 48-35 vote was seen as damaging.

On Thursday three senior frontbenchers - influential Finance Minister Mathias Cormann along with the employment and education ministers - resigned, dealing a major blow to the PM's chances of clinging to power.

They joined a string of other ministers who have either stepped down or offered to. Mr Cormann, a key Turnbull supporter, said the prime minister no longer had majority party support.

What does it mean to suspend parliament?

It prevented an entire session of Question Time, where the prime minister faces MPs in parliament, ahead of an already scheduled two-week break. This was seen as an extraordinary move.

It also means all parliamentary business is halted, so no debates can be held or new laws passed.

There were jeers of "you're a disgrace" from the opposition benches as the House of Representatives voted 70-68 to break until 10 September.

Opposition Labor Leader Bill Shorten said the country "no longer has a functioning government".

"The government may adjourn the parliament, but they cannot outrun the weight of failure of this government," he said after the vote.

A bloody business

Hywel Griffith, BBC News in Canberra


Inside Parliament House, only one thing is clear - Malcolm Turnbull's time as prime minister is coming to a chaotic end.

Journalists and politicians have been frantically stabbing at their phones in the hope of working out exactly what happens next.

Who will be his successor? Who has the numbers? Could there be a snap election?

Australia may be familiar with regularly culling its prime ministers, but it's a bloody business that doesn't follow a neat, orderly script.

Meanwhile, the normal business of governing has been suspended while the ruling party has its own civil war.

Why is Australian politics so turbulent?

The past decade has been marked by a series of leadership coups, with three sitting prime ministers deposed by party rivals.

Not a single leader in recent times has succeeded in serving a full three-year term as prime minister.

Under the Australian system, as in the UK, the prime minister is not directly elected by voters but is the leader of the party or coalition that can command a majority in parliament.

But in recent years, prime ministers unpopular in the polls - or with their colleagues - have been swiftly sacrificed from within.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-45278856


It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”

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