Liberal moderates swing behind Ley, Tehan the dark horse as race to replace Dutton begins
The bloodletting following the Liberal Party's worst ever election defeat has begun, with four leadership candidates emerging and an offical gender target for MPs being discussed.
Senior Liberal moderates are privately urging colleagues to unite behind deputy leader Sussan Ley as a four way race to succeed Peter Dutton as Opposition leader kicks off following the Coalition's worst ever defeat.
Liberal MPs held a series of phone hook-ups on Sunday after the election rout, which saw the Albanese government significantly increase its majority and Dutton lose his own seat.
In those calls, four potential leaders were discussed - Ley, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, immigration spokesman Dan Tehan and defence spokesman Andrew Hastie.
Ley — who hails from the soft right wing of the party, but supporters say was shut out of Dutton’s inner-circle — is the favoured candidate of NSW moderates. The Liberal party room is now dominated by conservatives and regional MPs, but the two candidates from the party's right may have weaknesses.
