Tony Abbott just used Barnaby Joyce's resignation to take a swipe at his Liberal colleagues, page-35

ahjay; Tony Abbott's done nothing either as PM or as a banckbencher that indicates he knows where the Party is going , let alone where it should go.

That's why he was seen as a flip-flop / weather vane PM - someone who says and does anything he thinks will grab a headline or appeal to reactionary nutters.