In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through Spring Street, Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto will face down a sudden leadership challenge at a snap party room meeting this Friday. The embattled Liberal leader now finds himself fighting for his political life after a group of rebel MPs, led by the up-and-coming Berwick representative Brad Battin, blindsided colleagues by calling the emergency spill motion.
Deeming Readmission Saga Reignites Factional Feuds
At the heart of this political firestorm is the simmering controversy surrounding exiled Liberal MP Moira Deeming. Despite Pesutto using his casting vote just days ago to block Deeming’s readmission to the party room, the leaderhas now made an extraordinary about-face – signaling he would be open to allowing her back into the fold.
Critics denounced the backflip as a “desperate” capitulation to the hard-right flank of the parliamentary party. One unnamed MP told The Guardian the move was “too little, too late” and a “slap in the face” to moderates who had stood by Pesutto. The bitter feud over Deeming, who was banished earlier this year after attending a rally gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, has ripped open longstanding factional wounds.
Battin Emerges as Shock Challenger
While Pesutto dug in his heels and refused calls from moderates to step down over the weekend, the sharks have clearly scented blood in the water. Brad Battin, a rising star in the party’s conservative ranks, has reportedly secured the numbers to topple the leader and seize the crown for himself.
“There is now a definite absolute majority of my colleagues who want this issue resolved with [Deeming’s] readmission.”
– John Pesutto on his backflip over Deeming
Once seen as a loyal Pesutto lieutenant, Battin’s leadership ambitions have burst into the open in spectacular fashion. Some party powerbrokers are now urging him to unite the warring factions by installing moderate MP Jess Wilson as his deputy – a peace offering to the vanquished Pesutto camp.
A Party Adrift and Byelection Battles Loom
The unfolding chaos has thrown the already-reeling Victorian Liberals into a fresh crisis. Still languishing in the political wilderness after a second consecutive drubbing at the polls last November, the party faces a pair of crucial byelection tests in the coming months.
Plagued by dismal approval ratings, anemic fundraising, and a resurgent Labor government under Daniel Andrews, Pesutto had been struggling mightily to drag his bitterly divided party out of the doldrums. Now, with his authority in tatters and enemies circling, the once-promising leader may be unceremoniously dumped before he even contests his first election as Opposition Leader.
The looming showdown will test whether the Victorian Liberals can step back from the brink of this internecine bloodletting and rally behind a new standard-bearer. But with the scars of this latest skirmish still raw, mending the shattered pieces may prove a bridge too far. For a party already on life support, this brutal leadership brawl may be one self-inflicted wound too many.
- Friday’s spill motion almost certain to succeed
- Bitter power struggle leaves party bitterly divided
- Byelection routs could push Liberals to extinction
As this Byzantine saga reaches its climax, shell-shocked Victorians can only watch on in disbelief. A party that once dominated the state’s politics has been reduced to a sideshow of recrimination and retribution. And with the stakes higher than ever, the Liberals’ uncanny knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory may be the only sure bet in this unpredictable political poker game.
