Canberra, September 14
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was today dramatically ousted from power by challenger Malcolm Turnbull who will now become the country’s fifth premier in eight years after the ruling Liberal Party chose him to replace the unpopular incumbent amid infighting.
In the hastily-arranged late night party leadership ballot, 57-year-old Abbott received 44 votes against Turnbull’s 54, just two years after his government took power.
Turnbull’s victory is reminiscent of the coup former prime minister Julia Gillard staged against Kevin Rudd in 2010 and makes the former communications minister Australia’s fifth prime minister in just over five years.
Liberal MPs also voted for Julie Bishop to remain deputy leader of the party. Turnbull 60, is expected to be sworn in after Abbott who had been plagued by poor opinion polls, writes to the Governor General and resigns.
Abbott had been a strong supporter of selling Australian uranium to India. Abbott had signed a uranium deal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in September 2014. Turnbull who will be the 29th PM of the country, resigned from cabinet this afternoon at the Question Time and told Abbott he would challenge for the leadership.
He said the prime minister was incapable of “providing the economic leadership the country needs”. Turnbull said he had been under sustained pressure to put his name forward. “Now this is not a decision that anyone could take lightly. I have consulted with many, many colleagues, many Australians, many of our supporters in every walk of life,” Turnbull said.
Earlier today, at a press conference, Turnbull said if Abbott remained as leader, the coalition government would lose the next election.
He said he had not taken the decision lightly, but that it was “clear enough that the government is not successful in providing the economic leadership that we need” and that Australia needed a new style of leadership.
