Be careful what you wish for. Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister would behave exactly as Kevin Rudd did – just ask anyone who tried to work with him under his leadership at the 1998 Constitutional Convention.

I am a glued on Lib how could I possibly vote for a half baked socialist?

That's the whole point Garum Masala

Its the non-committed voter the Libs have to appeal to - and Abbott won't do it. I know plenty of Labor/Green voters who are unhappy with how things are going but would never consider voting Liberal while Abbott is leader - they would however if Turnbull was.

Little Nora thanks I am doing a rethink !

Malcolm Turnbull humiliated the arrogant British securocrats over the Spycatcher affair, and for that and for standing up for an Australian head of state he'd always have my vote if not for the company he is keeping in a party that would choose Tony Abbott as its leader.

I wonder if Lee Rhiannon would make a better Greens leader than Christine Milne. She's certainly positioning herself for it.

Care to write about that, Robert Simms? I thought not.

So here we have a green trying to destabilize the libs. Good try Robert, if typically well spun.

Little nora, just why do you think your wishy washy half left voters would vote for Turnbull? Because he's one of them, As we know, Labor types have displayed an unerring ability to chose dreadful people to lead them for 40 years or more, so he should appeal to them.

The only way Turnbull will ever become PM is if he defects to Labor. There is no way a Liberal party, led by Turnbull would get the rusted on vote. Rusted on Liberal voters can see through Turnbull like he was made of smoke. If only we could imbibe some of that ability to smell out a shonk in our lefties. It only took the libs a few months to see through him, but the left are still infatuated.

It is interesting to consider that in fact Turnbull just may boost the Katter's Australia party to prominence.

Katter may be half nutcase, but at least his heart is in the right place. Turnbull, if he has a heart, it is that of a banker, half filled with mud. It is hard to know if he's a banker, a greenie or a socialist, but what ever he is, it is sure not prime minister material. If he became Liberal leader, it would boost Katter's vote immeasurably.

Hasbeen so what is the problem. If Katter gets the lib vote, i am sure he would talk more cense than Abbott.
All i know the libs have got to get a new leader quick, or else they will fade into oblivion. So it may as well be Turnbull, beaten by one vote. Not much grass in the middle.

“Turnbull has been at pains to disassociate himself from the more conservative forces within his own party. “

He could do this more efficiently by resigning and joining the Labor Party, which is what he ought to do, instead of inflicting a Labor representative like himself on the Liberal Party.

As to the “signs that Abbott’s anti carbon tax campaign is running out of steam”, what signs would they be?

The AGW fraud is dead in the water. The release of the Climategate emails in 2009 gave the evidence of the fraudulent attitude of the AGW backers, and time has worked to gain dissemination of the truth, and the dishonesty of fraud backers like Gillard.

We have marriage equality now. What the political activists want is a perversion of the meaning of the word “marriage” to encompass what it has never before included.

Certainly having a leader like Turnbull would lower Liberal’s lead, which is no doubt what the author would like to see.

" failed to deliver any meaningful action on climate change is beside the point"
so..... we now have a carbon dioxide tax and precisely what is that doing about climate precisely ..?

"he is still perceived as a leader who was knifed for standing by his convictions."..... In exactly the same way as Abbot is standing by his convictions. ie, a carbon dioxide tax will do nothing about the climate and add unessary costs to all Australians.

I agree with Leo.

I pay no heed to what a Greens advisor has to say,

The only reason the left is advocating Turnbull is because they see it advantagous for them. Knowing many liberal supporters would change if Turnbull was installed. He completely got it wrong about Liberal party thinking on climate change and tried to bully his view through. Liberals are sceptical about AGW and as time passes they are being shown to be correct. Neither do most want the word marriage to be used for what it is not intended. Homosexuals can find their own word for their union.

While ever Abbott is ahead of Gillard in the polls, the libs would be stupid to change abyway.

Banjo: "Knowing many liberal supporters would change if Turnbull was installed. "

Change? Into what? Werewolves? I think that's probably more likely for someone who's a rusted on Lib voter than voting for just about anybody else. The hard core don't matter, the swing voters have it.

Abbott can lead the polls right through to the next election. Only one poll matters. That's why we are in this governmental quagmire we find ourselves in, Abbott led his party into the last election. Admittedly they made gains, but not enough. They could made gains just by being Liberal.

Question is, what happens if the Libs don't win the next one? Knives at 12 O'Clock? Two chances seems to be all you get in Australian politics, if you're lucky.

Bugsy as you say polls don't really matter.

What does matter is that when it comes time to put the X on the ballot sheet, people are going to see a bottle red head looking at them, remember all the lies, & decide they just can't chance that what ever Labor has promised is just another batch of freshly cooked up lies.

That's when the chickens will come home to roost.

Yes some were had by Rudd, & had again by Gillard, & will still come back to be had again. Many can't believe their old workers party is now the party of the elites. Academia has taken it over, both in the unions, with lawyers running them, & the back rooms, where those dumb lawyers fall for the advice of all those with doctorates.

These elites are aghast that the common man has it so good, & are well on their way to fixing that. If we don't stop them, it will be back to the Manor for us, as surfs, not owners.

Emperor Julian, it is important to know that Turnbull was a solicitor, not a barrister, so did not generally appear in Court cases himself.

The Spycatcher case had been run a number of times overseas, with the British government losing in every instance.

Turnbull just had to run the template case, with a foregone conclusion, and appeared in it himself for the personal kudos available.

I fell for it at the time, and you are still under the illusion that he created of him being the fearless lawyer. If it had been difficult, he would have briefed Counsel.

His Labor mates wanted a Republic, and one of them might have become another snout in the trough as President, if the travesty of a Republic had come about.

He has certainly worked on faking sincerity, and manages to fool a lot of people.

now let's not talk about something significant ... like ... ahhh ... say the Greens vote in the current election result in the Capital Territory.

Let's talk about the liberal leadership instead.

What a simpletons diversion is this article.

Things must be grim in the Labor camp if their last option is to promote Turnbull.
Do they really think coalition voters are as silly as lefties ?
I hope the not so smart in the coalition are still smarter than putting Turnbull back.

Is it cruel to flog a dead horse? Turnbull has failed at NBN, a huge target hence hopeless as Opposition leader.

flog a dead horse
McCackie,
They have nothing else. That's all Labor can do.

hey Robert,

it seems the Labor War on the Greens is benefitting Labor.

Were you wrong in your previous article?

'Risky business: war on the Greens will hurt Labor'

OLO. posted Monday, 16 July 2012

Hasbeen

Turnbull is a liberal in the true sense of the word - economically and socially. All you people who are lambasting him should think about forming a 'conservative' party, one that is resistant to change, and the leave the Liberal Party to true liberals.

Well said Little Nora, Turnbull is the man, and shift that political illiterate, to the back benches and beyond.