Andrew Hastie has confirmed he will not contest the Liberal Party leadership, clearing the path for fellow right-winger Angus Taylor to challenge Sussan Ley. In a statement on Friday, Hastie conceded he does not have the support needed to become leader, ending a week of speculation.
A source close to Taylor said it is a 'question of when, not if' the shadow defence minister will launch a formal bid to unseat Ley. However, multiple sources indicated Taylor would not push for a leadership spill when federal parliament returns on Tuesday.
Hastie and Taylor met face-to-face in Melbourne on Thursday but could not reach agreement on who would challenge Ley. Hastie's decision came after consulting colleagues, with senior Liberal sources saying he was not pushed aside but came to the decision himself.
One Hastie ally cautioned against assuming his supporters would automatically shift to Taylor, noting that Hastie's appeal was as a candidate for generational change. Ley defeated Taylor 29 votes to 25 in the leadership contest after last year's federal election.
A conservative Liberal said there was no appetite for a challenge next week, with the focus expected to be on criticism of Labor. A Ley supporter described Hastie's statement as 'arrogant, self-absorbed' and 'childish'.
Earlier on Friday, Ley gave the Nationals an eight-day window to reunite the Coalition before she pushes ahead with a Liberal-only frontbench. She said if the Coalition is not reformed by 9 February, she will promote six MPs to shadow cabinet and two to the outer shadow ministry.
