Abbott leadership spill averted. But how did it get to that point?

Good to know that Abbott has survived this push for a leadership spill. And I thought he would head it off at the pass as he has ...

Really, trying to knife their leader was such a stupid thing to do. You've really got to wonder why it even got to this stage.

Well, there are malicious idiots in the LNP (as there are in all political parties). But they are far less common there than in Labor (where they are the norm rather than the exception).

Take this guy Simpkins, who pushed for the spill. Looking like a white-anting arsehat, and with egg all over his face (not unlike half the press gallery including Laurie Oakes, who said Abbott was "dead meat" as I recall) he says he doesn't think he's made any enemies. What a doofus! 

And I think timing had a lot to do with it. With the Silly Season just over and Canberra not in full gear, there was little going on politically in Oz (except in Queensland, of course). So Abbott's knighthood gaffe got more attention than it normally would have. The press gallery, chockas with brimming pinkos who want Tony's guts for garters, beat it up as much as they could. Libs with personal vendettas like Dennis Jensen, who've been scheming for months, it seems, decided it was time to strike. As a result there seemed to be much more momentum against Abbott than there actually was.

Sure, Abbott has a problem. But I think he can turn it around -- just. There's no one better to lead the party. Turnbull may be more popular than him, but he wouldn't be a shoo in. And there's ages to go before an election. So much can and will change before then.

Anyway, putting Turnbull at the helm would be an absolute disaster for the LNP. He's not really a conservative. He would destroy its soul. Lefties know this, which is one of the reasons the poisonous pinkos pray for this to happen. But to have people in the party pushing for this too? Well, that's deeply disturbing ...