After being thumped on the head by Dan Andrews, Victorian Liberals snap at each other.
After another night of crushing electoral disappointment, the distraught and angry Victorian Liberals were left to pick up the pieces and turn on each other.
Buoyed by the hope of turning a seemingly keen sense of dissatisfaction with Daniel Andrews’ dictatorial style into a swing big enough to oust Labour, that dream only collapsed after two hours of counting on Saturday night.
Controversially outspoken Conservative MP Tim Smith’s retirement from politics presented a bleak outlook for the party.
Liberal leader (pictured center left) concedes in Victorian election at Melbourne’s Doncaster Bowling Club
“You look down on being in the opposition until 2030, let’s be very clear on this,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“This is an existential threat to the future of the Liberal Party in Victoria.”
Mr Wilson, who did not run in this election after crashing his car drunk in October 2021, said he could not see a savior in the wings.
“I don’t see us miraculously finding a leader who breaks through in 2026 this morning,” he said.
Who will lead the Liberal Party? It won’t be Matthew Guy, he’ll pull the pin today or tomorrow.”
Despite a plea for unity from outgoing opposition leader Matthew Guy, liberal insiders began to assign blame almost immediately after the result.
A frontbencher said the entire party secretariat should ‘be fired’ the Herald Sun.
Some wondered why the same pollster, who also got it all wrong in 2018, was detained.
The mood was sombre at the Liberal Party reception as the results came in just after 8pm
By 10pm the Liberal party believers had dwindled to a small number as the crushing results continued to roll in
“Obviously our poll was bad,” said a senior Liberal.
“Totally sh*t.”
Other political reporters also delivered scathing criticism from unnamed liberal sources.
“Hot take from a Victorian Liberal: ‘We got the strategy all wrong in Melbourne, pushed parliament further to the left by electing the Greens and we won one seat. This is a disaster,'” James Massola of Nine Fairfax tweeted .
Fellow Nine Fairfax journalist Sumeyya Ilanbey relayed a brutal assessment of Mr Guy.
Sharp words from a liberal: “It’s been a referendum on the leader, okay, but not the one the liberals were hoping for,” she tweeted.
The faithful of the Liberal Party watched the events unfold at the Doncaster Bowling Club in Melbourne’s northeast, but by 10pm, just a few hours after voting closed, numbers had dwindled to a solemn few.
It was the final curtain on Matthew Guy’s leadership of the party when he announced his resignation on Sunday morning.
‘As soon as it is clear which candidates from the VVD will form the next party chamber, I will call them together to choose their new leadership team. I will not be a candidate for the position of leader,” the statement read.
It is far from certain that the Liberals will win net seats and may even fall back, which will be offset by strong performances in the regions for the Nationals, but not nearly enough.
With Mr Guy’s resignation, there is no clear successor, except perhaps Michael O’Brien, the leader who took over after defeat in 2018, but was brought down in a party coup in 2021.
Mr O’Brien, who sat on the ABC election night commentary panel, declined to be asked if the party would have done better if he had been in charge.
“I don’t think much about hypotheses,” he told the ABC.
The major networks – ABC, Sky, Seven and Nine – all called the race in favor of Mr Andrews shortly after 8pm
Outgoing Liberal MP Tim Smith said the result nearly secured two more terms in opposition for the Liberals and they faced an ‘existential threat’
The bad news for the Liberals continued to come Sunday morning, as the Nationals explored the possibility of “decoupling” after their strong showing.
National MP Danny O’Brien told ABC radio that a political split was not out of the question.
“We need to think about what’s best, not just for us, but for the Liberal Party. It is clear that they will undergo quite a bit of self-examination in the coming days, weeks and months,” he said.
“We performed really well, it was a great result for the Nationals in regional Victoria. But ultimately we want to be able to deliver from the government banks to the people of rural and regional Victoria, and of course we won’t be able to do that for the next four years.
“It will also be difficult in the next election, so I think we need to consider what the best options are for us… [splitting the Coalition] must be on the table.’
Peta Credlin, who was chief of staff to former Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott and a constant critic of Dan Andrews, took aim at the Liberals during election night coverage on Sky News.
Peta Credlin rips at Liberal Party for ‘losing SO well’ as Daniel Andrews wins third term
BY BRETT LACKEY FOR AUSTRALIA DAILY MAIL
Conservative Sky News commentator Peta Credlin has unleashed a furious spray on the Victorian Liberal Party, which suffered a convincing loss to Daniel Andrews’ Labor in the state election.
Credlin – who was once touted as a potential challenger to Andrews at the polls – was furious that the party was becoming “very comfortable” with being in the opposition and losing the election despite having “a lot” to work with against the prime minister.
Credlin, the former chief of staff to Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott, said the party was being destroyed by “factional warlordism” and denounced senior MPs for telling federal Liberals to back down, saying they “don’t understand Victoria.”
‘Really?! Because at the state level you lose so well in areas where we don’t lose at the federal level.’
Ms Credlin said Victorian Liberals should be brave enough to clear out the ‘dead wood’ that has been around for 20 years and ‘all sweet bastards’.
“You see in chairs like Hastings and Nepean that if you put fresh blood into the vote, people will support it.”
“The Liberal party is not sure what it stands for in Victoria and I must say it is very comfortable in the opposition,” Credlin said.
“It has lost faith in itself that it can beat Labor and win.”
“You’re up against Dan Andrews and you can see in the swings (against Labour) there are grumpy people.”
“There’s plenty to work with.”
Sky News presenter Peta Credlin (pictured left) blamed ‘factional warlordship’ and the Liberals ‘comfortable in opposition’ for their defeat in Saturday’s Victorian election
She said the Liberals were dominated by “factional warlordism,” often at the behest of federal MPs who “don’t understand Victoria,” and that they had to clear out the “dead wood” of underperforming candidates and MPs.
“The Liberal Party isn’t sure what it stands for in Victoria and I have to say it’s very, very comfortable in the opposition,” Credlin said.
“It has lost faith in itself that it can beat Labor and win.”
On the Labor side, outgoing MP and former health minister Martin Pakula accused the Liberals of being fixated on Mr Andrews and not listening to the community.
“Building an entire election campaign around the theory (hope?) that everyone hates Dan as much as you hate Dan was always a Hail Mary strategy,” he tweeted.
“It’s hard to hear the community clearly when you spend all your time in an echo chamber.”
