John Howard backs Turnbull as obvious successor

This is LNP royalty giving approval for his once enemy Malcolm Turnbull to become the leader of the LNP at a dinner with media executives. This has to be a calculated attack by Howard.

"Former Prime Minister John Howard has expressed surprise at the speed of the demise of Tony Abbott's leadership and agrees that if there were to be a change, Malcolm Turnbull would be the most obvious replacement.
But this does not mean Mr Howard is agitating for a change. The former prime minister still remains broadly supportive of Mr Abbott, his one-time protege, say sources close to him.
Mr Howard is not commenting on Monday on reports sourced from a recent private dinner he held with media executives.
During the dinner, he expressed surprise at Mr Abbott's inability to make the transition from Opposition to government and he was also critical of Mr Abbott's chief of staff, Peta Credlin, cited as the source of much of the internal unrest.
Mr Howard has long held Mr Tuirnbull in high regard. He was instrumental in persuading Mr Turnbull to reverse his decision to quit politics after losing the leadership in December 2009.
Mr Abbott's leadership remains in doubt after 39 of his colleagues voted for a leadership spill two weeks ago."

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