Sussan Ley has been confirmed as the new leader of the Liberal party, making history as the party’s first female leader.
Daily Mail Australia understands she won the vote 29-25 against Angus Taylor.
Shadow Energy Minister Ted O’Brien has been elected to ther role as deputy leader, with Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s hopes of being deputy now dead in the water.
Ley, 63, is one of the Liberal Party’s most-experienced hands, having served as a Cabinet minister under the Coalition’s past three prime ministers – Tony Abbott, Mr Turnbull and Mr Morrison.
A former commercial pilot, farmer and public servant, she has held the blue ribbon seat of Farrer in NSW‘s south-west following the retirement of her long-serving successor and former National Party leader and deputy prime minister Tim Fischer.
Ley famously changed the spelling of her first name from ‘Susan’ to ‘Sussan’ in her 20s after exploring numerology. She believed that adding an extra ‘s’ would make her life ‘incredibly exciting’ and ensure ‘nothing would ever be boring’. That will certainly be true if she takes over the Liberal leadership at such a messy time for the party.
Ley is a mother of three and had the support of the of the party’s moderates, with some believing a woman at the helm will help repair the party’s negative image among female voters.
Senior Liberals reportedly criticised Mr Taylor for failing to present detailed economic policy as shadow treasurer during the election campaign.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price had defected from the Nationals last week and teamed up with Mr Taylor in a bid to become his second-in-command but the ticket was dead on arrival.
Her defection from the National Party to run as deputy angered former colleagues and some moderate Liberals who disagreed her brash style of politics would be a vote winner in the inner cities.
Senator Nampijinpa Price was accused of stoking culture wars, highlighted by her comment to ‘make Australia great again’ during the campaign, evoking US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric.
Sussan Ley has been confirmed as the new leader of the Liberal party, making history as the party’s first female leader
Shadow Energy Minister Ted O’Brien has been elected to ther role as deputy leader, with Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s hopes of being deputy now dead in the water
There is no reason to assume whoever takes the job won’t last until the next election, and the absence of a deep bench could bode well for them, Australian National University politics lecturer Jill Sheppard said.
But leading the coalition when it holds less than half as many seats as Labor is a tough ask, and there is a reason other contenders such as Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie were quick to rule themselves out.
The coalition holds 42 of 150 lower house seats, less than half of Labor’s 93.
‘It does feel like a bit of a poisoned chalice,’ Dr Sheppard told AAP.
‘The most important day-one job is to keep the party united, and that’s not going to be easy when there’s a lot of recriminations to be had.’
Moderates have urged the Liberals to abandon culture wars and return to the centre but Dr Sheppard warned that might not solve the party’s problems.
Senator Nampijinpa Price was accused of stoking culture wars, highlighted by her comment to ‘make Australia great again’ during the campaign
Coming up with policies that stuck closer to the centre could make it harder for the Liberals to differentiate themselves from Labor, she said.
Some of the coalition’s lost votes likely bled to hard-right parties such as One Nation, which could spark internal debates about the importance of ‘culture wars’ to some constituents.
However, it is unclear whether the next leader will be able to change the Liberal Party’s ideological direction.
Leaders were constrained by the partyroom’s extremes and were forced to find balance in the middle, Dr Sheppard said.
‘To an extent, it doesn’t matter who is leader – the parties are pretty strong and they will constrain their leader,’ she said.
The Nationals re-elected David Littleproud as their leader on Monday following a challenge from conservative senator Matt Canavan.
Daily Mail Australia politcal editor Peter Van Onselen’s take on Sussan Ley
One of Ley’s clear strengths is that as a woman her elevation will help stave off criticisms that there aren’t enough women in parliament on the conservative side of the chamber. Ley has previously expressed support for gender quotas, but that won’t help her campaign to be leader. It might, however, help her win back the votes of women who have deserted the party in droves.
Ley’s biggest weakness is the perception that she’s not up to the job of being leader. Whether that sentiment is unfounded or founded, it’s there, among colleagues and the parliamentary press gallery. It increases the degree of difficulty of being taken seriously, but it could also lead to her opponents underestimating her.
Another criticism she’s received over the years is that she is a bit loose with her rhetoric. Prone to shooting her mouth off and needing to walk back her commentary. As leader she’ll need to be more disciplined than that, and have a good team around her.
