Posted on 07/10/2006 5:03:16 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
THE crisis in the Liberal leadership deepened today, with Prime Minister John Howard accusing Treasurer Peter Costello of arrogance and hubris.
Mr Howard also questioned his deputy's account of a deal to hand over power.
Backbenchers began weighing into the row, with two MPs calling on Mr Costello to quit as treasurer and deputy Liberal leader.
Former Liberal leader John Hewson also savaged Mr Costello's apparent attempt to destabilise Mr Howard's leadership, accusing the prime minister-in-waiting of immaturity and arrogance.
Mr Costello yesterday said Mr Howard had not kept a promise – made at a December 1994 meeting – that he would step down midway through his second term in return for an unopposed run at the party leadership.
He stopped short of calling the Prime Minister a liar.
Mr Howard today again insisted there was no deal made at the meeting and said Mr Costello's actions in the weeks that followed contradicted the treasurer's version of events.
"The best evidence of that is that for weeks afterwards there was speculation that Mr Costello would run for the leadership and I vividly remember having lunch with him between Christmas and the New Year of 1994," Mr Howard said outside Kirribilli House in Sydney.
"And one of the things he said to me during that lunch was that he still reserved the right to run.
"Well, if we'd made a deal on the 5th of December, 1994, why would he tell me between Christmas and New Year of the same year that he still reserved the right to run?"
Mr Howard repeated that the leadership of the party was not a decision for him or the treasurer.
"The leadership of the Liberal Party is not my plaything, it's not Mr Costello's plaything, it is the unique gift of the 100 men and women of the federal parliamentary Liberal Party and any member of the parliamentary Liberal Party who forgets that is indulging in hubris and arrogance," he said.
Liberal backbencher and Howard loyalist Alby Schultz, the member for the country New South Wales seat of Hume, said Mr Costello's comments displayed "extreme disloyalty" and had placed Mr Howard in a "disgraceful position".
"He should resign his position as treasurer and deputy leader and move back to the backbench and let the party room make a decision on who they want to replace him," he said to ABC radio.
Fellow NSW Liberal Bronwyn Bishop said Mr Costello should do "the honourable thing" and challenge for the leadership or stand aside. But she said sacking the treasurer would achieve nothing.
Ms Bishop said Mr Costello was "extremely naive" for thinking there was any deal in place.
"It is an insane proposition – you cannot have a deal where you can't deliver anything. It is not a gift to be given," she said on ABC radio.
But another Liberal backbencher, West Australian Mal Washer, defended the treasurer and said calls for him to quit were over the top.
"Peter's a champion guy, right, and look, one day I'm sure John's got to go one way or another – I think he's (Mr Costello) a man we need in this party," Dr Washer said to ABC radio.
"We're not going to lose Costello because of that."
Dr Hewson, meanwhile, called for calm from Mr Costello and said the situation was "a tragedy for the Liberal Party and even worse for Australia".
"It tells me a lot about Peter Costello, he's showing enormous immaturity and naivety and arrogance," he said to the Nine Network.
"He's doing himself and his case for being prime minister a lot of harm."
Mr Howard and Mr Costello were to come face to face today during what was likely to be a tension-packed Cabinet meeting in Sydney.
The two men are to come face to face today at what is expected to be a tense meeting of Cabinet.
It may well. The difference is John Howard retains the support of his parliamentary party.
"He's doing himself and his case for being prime minister a lot of harm."
I think he's blown it!
I think you're probably right. Hard to see him getting out of this unscathed.
Our Health Minister is Tony ABBOTT!
Costello is certainly not his usual, smiling self today...maybe he realizes he has not chosen his friends too well - funny how Ian McLachlan resigned:
March 1995: Federal Opposition MP Ian McLachlan resigns his front bench position, admitting that he inadvertently misled Parliament. He had told Parliament that gender-restricted representations related to the Saunders report had come into his possession in an unmarked envelope. His staff had also photocopied the representations (see The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 March 1995, page 1.)
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLB/1996/64.html
Seems McLachlan has trouble with bits of paper...sometimes kept in his wallet for 10 years and sometimes found in plain envelopes...
DANG!!! Let's Get Ready to Ruuuuuuumble!!!!! LOL!
I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for the reminder.
It's a great tragedy all this is happening.
"It's a great tragedy all this is happening."
Certainly is. Costello has fallen into the Divide and Conquer trap the Opposition and the MSM set for him. They have been beating the drum of succession for years, at every opportunity. I never believed Costello would fall for it, but he did.
He has allowed himself to be neutered.
That McLachlan would be walking around with a piece of 'incriminating' handwritten paper in his wallet for a decade makes his character problematical.
Costello might be able to eat enough crow to see out this term as Treasurer...but Prime Minister? I doubt it very much.
The Prime Minister isn't directly elected by the people (like the US president is). Instead, individual parliamentary seats are elected, and the victorious party (or coalition) then appoints the Prime Minister.
Immediately after an election this will be the leader of the party (assuming he won his seat). Following that though if the PM ever loses the majority support of the governing party he can be ousted.
Australia's not the best example. For down Under, the more chaotic example is New Zealand - of the last 6 Prime Ministers only 3 were elected (Lange, Bolger, Clark) - the other 3 got in by ousting the current PM (Palmer, Moore and Shipley).
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