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Turnbull’s “pet fetish” – thinks people will sing hallalujah to climate change. He’s ruined. (Blame Abbott)

Abbott is an incredibly powerful man. From the backbench he’s creating disunity, stopping legislation, ruining careers, and bringing down Prime Ministers, all just for the fun of it.

This has nothing to do with the 54% of Australians who are skeptics.

Turnbull has lost control of government. He cannot get legislation through the lower house. But hey, if only Abbott wasn’t there, Australians would be happy to buy expensive electricity.

It would take a ‘miracle’ to save Malcolm Turnbull

Peter Hartcher, The Sydney Morning Herald

“Turnbull thinks people will fall on their knees and say hallelujah!

Turnbull’s supporters are angry and frustrated at Abbott. But among many in the conservative faction of the Liberal Party, there is glee. Turnbull has been humiliated. And, to the conservatives’ great satisfaction, he has been humiliated over what they consider his pet fetish – climate change and carbon emissions.

“Turnbull is obsessed with this issue,” says a leading conservative MP. He thinks it’s a “‘greatest moral challenge of our time’ type of initiative”, a reference to the Kevin Rudd description of climate change. It was a challenge that Rudd failed because of an internal insurrection and now Turnbull has been forced to abandon too.

Contemptuously, he adds: “Turnbull thinks people will fall on their knees and say hallelujah! We’re back to the innovation message”, Turnbull’s campaign theme that fell flat at the 2016 election and which he has since abandoned. “He’s blind to the politics because he’s obsessed with the issue.”

But the defeat is about much more than climate change. It’s an ideological and identity marker. And it has exposed Turnbull’s jugular. “You can’t have a government,” says a Dutton advocate, “that can’t rely on the House on a key piece of legislation.”

The Coalition’s primary vote fell to 33% in the latest IPSOS–Fairfax poll. This is Abbott’s fault.

This may be”Turnbull thinks people will fall on their knees and say hallelujah!unfair. It’s Abbott and other conservatives who have revolted against Turnbull, yet Turnbull is being judged responsible. Disunity is death – Abbott delivers the disunity, Turnbull gets the death. But that’s politics.

Yeah. Only a “handful” of conservative MP’s have thwarted Turnbull yet again.

Lucky Julie Bishop is not a wrecker like Tony Abbott:

Simon Benson, The Australian

In a counter-move by moderates, The Australian understands that, if Mr Dutton won a second ballot, leading moderates including Julie Bishop, have threatened to resign from parliament, stripping the government of its slim majority and triggering a general election.

If Turnbull had just won 90 seats at the last election, a handful of MP’s couldn’t play these games.

Just bad luck.

h/t Dave B

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