Australia may get a new prime minister today


On Monday, Australia's ruling conservative Liberal Party is voting on a challenge to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's leadership from former party leader Malcolm Turnbull (pictured), who resigned as communications minister to mount a bid to unseat Abbott. If the 101 Liberal lawmakers vote in favor of Turnbull, he will automatically become not just party leader but also prime minister. "I will be a candidate and I expect to win," Abbott told reporters on Monday.
Analysts aren't so sure. Abbott led the Liberal Party to victory in 2013, but his popularity has steadily declined since then, and most recent polls suggest a Labor Party victory in national elections next year. "It is clear that the people have made up their mind about Mr. Abbott's leadership," said Turnbull, a social moderate and policy centrist popular with swing voters but not with the party's conservative wing. "Now if we continue with Mr. Abbott as prime minister, it is clear what will happen, he will cease to be prime minister and will be succeeded by [Labor leader Bill] Shorten."
But the Labor Party's recent history with mid-rule leadership switches might save Abbott's job. "After being toppled by his deputy Julia Gillard, Labor PM Kevin Rudd seized back his old job in a reverse coup only to lose it forever when the public punished his party at a general election in 2013," explains BBC News editor Wendy Frew. But there are signs that the Liberal-National governing coalition might be through with Abbott anyway, she adds: "As one unnamed cabinet minister told local media on Monday morning: 'This time I think they will get him.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
How quarterly estimated tax payments work and when they are due
The Explainer Freelancers, small business owners and those with a side hustle may need to make more frequent tax payments
-
'Alligator Alcatraz will be a blight on the Everglades'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday