Almost half a year since he was unseated by Liberal leader Matthew Guy, former opposition leader Michael O’Brien will return to a senior position on the frontbench as part of a Coalition reshuffle.
The member for Malvern, a 50-year-old former barrister who served as opposition leader from 2018 until September, will be part of a revamped leadership team to be announced this afternoon by Mr Guy.
Michael O’Brien after his defeat by Matthew Guy in September.Credit:Justin McManus
Liberal Party sources told The Age the reshuffle was designed to better align frontbenchers to their political or professional skills.
The political comeback suggests Mr O’Brien has made peace with Mr Guy, whose supporters voiced consistent internal dissent during the Malvern MP’s leadership.
Mr O’Brien, who was supported by about one-third of Liberal MPs when he was toppled in September, was offered a job on Mr Guy’s frontbench soon after losing the leadership, but he declined.
The Coalition has begun the year in campaign mode. It has held rally-style events and rolled out a series of slogans including “recover and rebuild”, “make Victoria number one again” and “no more lockdowns”.
Mr Guy and Mr O’Brien both struggled to gain political momentum during the pandemic, as incumbent governments across Australia experienced popularity rises. But Labor and Liberal party strategists and pollsters believe Mr Guy’s messaging – delivered in a repeated, disciplined manner – is resonating with some voters in the middle and outer suburbs.
Polling by Resolve Strategic Monitor published in The Age in January suggests Labor has a clear-election-winning advantage, and a Newspoll from November showed Labor with a 58-42 two-party preferred lead.
But internal party pollsters and strategists believe the true split could be closer to 55-45, and there is a consensus that the state opposition’s vote is being dragged down by the unpopularity of the Morrison government.
MORE TO COME.
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