Politics

NEWSMAKER: Anonymous ‘Save the Party’ email rocks Liberals

VEXNEWS exclusive report yesterday on the “Save the Party” letter that criticised the “Liberal Renewal” structural changes has been shamelessly reported by The Age’s Paul Austin without attribution.

The email was sent to Liberal MP’s anonymously and was first published by VEXNEWS. The identity of the author has been the subject of intense speculation with few being confident in identifying various Baillieu factional figures as responsible for the cleverly argued attempt at white-anting the reforms being proposed by Party President “Old Man Winter” David Kemp.

The Herald Sun’s John Ferguson today asks the big question: Why is Ted Baillieu refusing to endorse the Kemp reform plan?

PETRO HEARTS TED WHO HEARTS PAUL AUSTIN
Some Liberals might say that Austin was probably given the document by Baillieu’s office directly. Austin – despite or perhaps because of his strong left-wing credentials – enjoys a strong personal rapport with the state Liberal leader and with the leader’s personal mentor and coach Petro Georgiou.

Baillieu often deals directly with Austin, by-passing the Leader’s staff. Senior Liberal front-benchers are believed to be astounded by the number of exclusives given to The Age given that its genuine circulation is in rapid decline and that its presence in Labor-held marginals in the outer burbs and country is negligible.

VEXNEWS has learned that Shadow Transport Minister Terry Mulder has raised the media strategy with senior colleagues. Mulder can frequently be seen at the European cafe on Spring Street marvelling at the run Ted gets in The Age but appears puzzled when the Herald Sun’s coverage looks like it was personally written by the Treasury Place hard-face Allison Crossweller with Ted barely in sight.

DOYLE WHO?
Baillieu is believed to regard the Herald Sun’s John Ferguson as being suspiciously close to former leader Robert Doyle (who is no longer in Parliament last time we looked). It seems a rather random reason to forsake a newspaper with real impact throughout the state but particularly in the areas where the inner-urban focused Liberals need to rebuild their reputations.

In the background of the proposed constitutional changes in the Party, is a frenzied level of activity in branches in the Leader’s seat of Hawthorn. Merchant banker Josh Frydenberg who has accumulated a large body of support in Kooyong to position himself to unseat Baillieu ally Petro Georgiou has engaged in hearty “branch development” ahead of changes that will make stacking more difficult.

Kroger faction heavyweights Mitch Fifield and Michael Ronaldson are believed to have “sanctioned a hit” on Georgiou at the next round of federal preselections due next year. Frydenberg’s ascension is inevitable it now seems, although Baillieu and his forces will do their best to prop up Georgiou “weekend at Bernie’s style”.

JEFF’S BACK IN TOWN
In further internal Liberal developments, it now appears certain Kennett is going to have a crack at Lord Mayor with many Liberals getting set to help his political comeback. His Facebook page is the focus of as much recruiting activity as some of Frydenberg’s branches. Kennett’s entry into the Lord Mayoral race will certainly add some fun to an otherwise dull City of Melbourne election process.

At 104 Exhibition Street, Tony Nutt has been quietly taking care of business. He’s recruited Damien Mantach, a well regarded former Tassie party director and also Dan Tehan, the son of the former Liberal minister Marie Tehan.

Dan is best known in Liberal circles for being favourite for preselection in the safe Liberal seat of Indi until he was bested by Sophie Mirabella who spoke with so much passion about her defence of Her Majesty that some of the elderly female preselectors were moved to tears before voting for her. Tehan didn’t stand a chance and bitterly complained that he was beaten by an “unemployed former electorate officer who was pretending to be a barrister.” Many thought his complaints were sour grapes.

While Mirabella was headed to Canberra in style, Tehan drew what many regard as the shortest of short straws in the Liberal party jobs market, pulling the Chief of Staff’s job to the mad, bad and dangerous to know Fran Bailey. Despite maintaining the physique of a retired wrestler, Bailey is known as the lightest of lightweights in the Party room.

After the election, Tehan, who has been eyeing off a state marginal seat for himself, couldn’t translate his Fran Bailey management skills into gainful employment in the private sector (the Zoo made an offer but it wasn’t in his band of salary expectation) so instead embraced the exciting prospect of working in a reinvented 104 Exhibition Street as Ted Baillieu’s officially designated spy, replacing the loyal anti-semite Susan Chandler.

© 2008 VEXNEWS 2010©.