Former PM Tony Abbott maintains he could have won next federal election
By political reporter
Anna Henderson
Updated 6 minutes ago
PHOTO: Former prime minister Tony Abbott speaks with Ray Hadley.(ABC News)
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RELATED STORY: Peta Credlin denies political ambition, takes swipe at critics
MAP: Australia
Former prime minister Tony Abbott maintains he was dumped before the Canning by-election so his detractors could avoid proof that he could help secure the seat and set up his party to win the next election.
Two weeks after being overthrown by his party room, Mr Abbott conducted a lengthy live interview with 2GB's Ray Hadley, covering his time in office and the chain of events before and after he was ousted by Malcolm Turnbull.
Part of the reason for the loss of internal support was the Coalition's consistently poor performance in the opinion polls.
But Mr Abbott said internal polling showed the result in the Canning by-election — held five days after his demise — was likely to be just as positive if he remained leader.
He said those seeking to unseat him had to act at that point.
"A strong result in Canning — which is what we were going to get — would have put paid to this notion that somehow I was unelectable because of the polls," he said.
Mr Abbott said he was confident in the policy legacy he had left to his successor.
At 57, the Member for the Sydney seat of Warringah said he was not preparing to leave Parliament and trigger a by-election "any time soon" and would not make a decision about his long-term future before Christmas, saying he still wanted to contribute to public life.
'Myth' that dumping Credlin and Hockey would have saved me
One of the key reasons many Government MPs and backbenchers supported the leadership change was down to frustration with the Prime Minister's office, including micro-management by Mr Abbott's chief of staff Peta Credlin.
There was also concern about the performance of former treasurer Joe Hockey.
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But Mr Abbott rejected the prospect that he could have kept the top job if he sacked or moved them both.
He acknowledged Ms Credlin was not "perfect" but said no-one worked harder than her to secure the Coalition's ascension to government.
"Occasionally she might have spoken brusquely to one or two people," he said.
"But the job of the prime minister's chief of staff is to be strong, it's to be tough, it's to be focused, and look, she did an absolutely marvellous job.
"This is a real myth. The idea that people who were hungry for advancement would somehow be mollified if Joe went or if my chief of staff went is just nonsense.
"When someone is absolutely focused on a particular objective, they're not going to be put off if they're thrown a few human sacrifices."
Mr Abbott said he and Mr Hockey were "blood brothers" in terms of economic policy.
"The idea that I could have just casually sacrificed Joe to save myself is dead wrong."
Abbott warns to stop changing leaders like changing clothes
Mr Abbott said he wanted his demise to mark the end of governments dumping their leaders in office, and urged Coalition voters not to abandon the party in response to the instability.
"Sure, there'll be difficult times, sure there'll be ups and there'll be downs," he said.
"People of character and steadiness don't panic at the polls.
"My hope is what happened a fortnight ago finishes all of this stuff, that we get right away from this concept of changing the leader like you might change your clothes to suit the fashion. Our country is better than that."
During the interview Hadley read out some correspondence from listeners who said they were alienated by the leadership change and felt betrayed.
"It would be terrible if people were to abandon the Coalition because of this," Mr Abbott replied.
"It's always better to stay in and fight. I can appreciate that there are a lot of people out there who are dismayed by what's happened, but, as I said, it would be even worse if we were to end up with a sixth prime minister in six years.
"Even if they have to do it through gritted teeth, support the Coalition, support the Prime Minister, support the Government."
Clash of memories on warnings of his demise
Mr Abbott conceded there was a difference of recollection over the discussion between his office and colleague Scott Morrison before he lost the leadership.
The former prime minister
conducted a brief interview last week as he emerged from the surf in Sydney, criticising Mr Morrison for suggesting he warned Mr Abbott's office to be on high alert ahead of the coup.
At the time he said Mr Morrison "misled the public" by saying he had sounded the alarm.
Today, Mr Abbott addressed the discrepancy.
"Certainly there was a conversation, as I understand it, between Scott and Peta Credlin," Mr Abbott said.
"He's [Morrison] obviously put one construction on the conversation, my office put a different construction on the conversation."
Mr Abbott said it would be counterproductive to labour over what was said and he did not want the headline coming out of the interview to be "Abbott slams Morrison".
Former PM warns of return to trademark budgie smugglers
Mr Abbott has already returned to his previous volunteer firefighting role and said he also expected to do surf patrol over summer.
His Speedo swimming briefs have drawn much mirth, and provided great fodder for cartoonists, over his time in public life.
But Mr Abbott said he was not planning to switch to baggy shorts, particularly when participating in competitive events.
"If a club swim is on, I'm afraid boardies are just a drag," he joked.
"The idea of going in a surf race, a surf swim in board shorts is just silly."
Mr Abbott agreed that aesthetically it would be best to switch to board shorts on the beach.
From other news sites:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-...-could-have-won-next-federal-election/6812098
