can coalition ship stay afloat

These paragraphs from Mark Kenny of the Sydney Morning Herald provides an interesting insight into the Coalitions current dilemma. The full story can be read on the following link but I have posted a few paragraphs that give the thrust of the story.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/coalition-ship-needs-more-than-energy-to-stay-afloat-20140205-321gt.html#ixzz2sWtg5Ywl

"....Within just three months, collapsing Coalition support put it decisively behind Labor heading into the summer break.
Those close to Abbott say the Prime Minister, and indeed the broader government, have a partial excuse: summer holidays. They say the entire administration has emerged from the break renewed and refreshed...."

"....Yet it will take more than energy to right the Coalition ship.
By his own admission, Abbott is learning on the job, and learning, too, that running the country is a hundred times more complex than complaining about it...."

"....There have been mistakes in policy substance - education stands out - and more again in political salesmanship...."

"....GrainCorp notwithstanding, Hockey has emerged as the hard man and the clear stand-out minister in the government - a fact that may itself become an issue for Abbott as this term matures if the Prime Minister's persistently low popularity is seen to be holding the coalition vote down...."

"....No one is considering that at present, but just as Liberals figured Labor MPs would eventually dump Julia Gillard because they could not win under her leadership, Coalition MPs could find themselves in a similar bind. Both within the parliament and within the government, it is Hockey's direction that is providing much of the impetus of the Abbott government...."

....It is the very fact that SPC was seeking a relatively small amount of money, that has made the case so important. The Abbott cabinet opposed it on the principle of not subsidising private enterprise with public dollars, choosing to stare down the political cost of being seen to allow jobs to be lost. And it did so in one of its own electorates.
The full ramifications of this are not yet clear...."

....The loss of Sophie Mirabella's solid conservative seat of Indi last year to the independent, Cathy McGowan, has heightened sensitivities in the Coalition, revealing how easily the politics can go south. The neighbouring seat of Murray, held by Liberal Sharman Stone, contains the Shepparton SPC cannery...."

"....Judging by the tone of her comments, branding Abbott a liar for his description of SPC working conditions as vastly above community standards, Stone may be the next to abandon her party...."