Scott Morrison‘s long-term future hangs in the balance after he was dumped as Prime Minister and stood down as Liberal leader in the wake of his election wipeout.
Analysts suggest he will try to cause havoc from the backbenches – but he has already hinted he may even try to make a comeback.
In an emotion-packed reading to his church on Saturday, Mr Morrison warned: ‘Though I fall, I will rise.’
New PM Anthony Albanese swept to power after a ‘seismic’ collapse in Coalition support in key electorates saw Liberals like Treasurer Josh Frydenberg lose their seats.
Labor are now on the verge of a majority government with 75 seats, just one shy of the 76 they need, and several seats still too tight to call as the count continues.
In Mr Morrison’s concession speech at Sydney’s Fullerton Hotel on Saturday night, he confirmed he was stepping down as leader.
But he vowed to stay on in Parliament to serve his South Sydney constituents.
‘The people of Cook have supported me so strongly and I will continue to be your representative,’ he said.
Scott Morrison’s long-term future hangs in the balance after he was dumped as Prime Minister and stood down as Liberal leader in the wake of his election wipeout
He and wife Jenny hosted a final farewell drinks for staffers at Kirribilli House on Sunday afternoon after Mr Morrison said he will hand over the reins of the Coalition to a new leader, with former defence minister Peter Dutton the current front runner.
But what’s not clear yet is if Mr Morrison will look for a role on the new leader’s frontbench as a shadow minister, or if he will move to the backbenches.
Alternatively, he may later reconsider his decision to stay on in Canberra and instead quit to spend more time with Jenny and their girls, Abbey and Lily.
Veteran political broadcaster Barrie Cassidy predicted Mr Morrison will stay on in Parliament, with the intent to cause chaos by sniping from the sidelines.
‘He does what every other former Prime Minister does,’ Cassidy told Ten’s The Project. ‘He creates mischief.’
He said he expected Mr Morrison to fill the roles once filled by other former PMs like Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd who stayed on to sledge rivals, free of the constraints of political office.
And in his final words as PM, Mr Morrison sent a strong hint of one day hoping to make a triumphant return to power.
In a tearful address to his Horizon Pentecostal megachurch in Sutherland on Sunday, Mr Morrison read a key passage from the Book of Micah.
‘Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine,’ said Mr Morrison.
‘Though I fall, I will rise.’
In a tearful address to his Horizon Pentecostal megachurch in Sutherland on Sunday, Scott Morrison hinted at a political comeback when he read a key passage from the Book of Micah
The passage echoes the attempts by ex-PMs Abbott and Rudd who both plotted a return to power from the backbenches after they were toppled from the top spot.
But Mr Morrison may yet also follow the example of Malcolm Turnbull who quit Parliament after he lost power to Scott Morrison in the Liberal Party coup of 2018.
Mr Turnbull’s decision to quit plunged his party into crisis though, with his Wentworth seat in Sydney’s eastern suburbs lost to independent Dr Kerryn Phelps, costing the Coalition their absolute majority.
The decision made it tricky for the government to implement new legislation without the support of crossbenchers.
But the extent of the Coalition collapse in Saturday’s election means it is virtually impossible for them to stop Labor’s agenda being rolled out.
Labor are in now a strong position with a probable absolute majority and the likely support of both the Greens and the new wave of teal Independents for any climate change legislation.
Veteran political broadcaster Barrie Cassidy predicted Mr Morrison will stay on in Parliament, with the intent to cause chaos by sniping from the sidelines
‘First of all you have the Labor Party wins majority government and the Liberals lost 20 seats.
Then you add the independents element to it, and we’re not talking about the rise of minor parties here, five individuals all came in at the same time. We’ve never seen that before.
‘Then you look at what the Greens have achieved. The Greens have beaten Labor before but they’ve never have taken a seat from the Liberal Party at the federal level.
‘And they did it in Queensland. And what’s more is it looks like they might have denied Pauline Hanson a Senate seat. This is all a pretty big deal.’
He added: ‘This time the voters rewarded those with the strongest climate change policies.
‘They rewarded Labor, they rewarded the Greens and they rewarded independents.’
The devastating result means Mr Morrison could quit Canberra without substantially hurting the Coalition any further, even in the unlikely event the Liberals lost the by-election for the seat.
In his emotional appearance at church on Sunday, Mr Morrison said his readings to the congregation would be ‘the last thing I say as PM.’
In his first reading from the obscure book of Habakkuk, Mr Morrison choked back tears as he spoke of ‘triumphing’ in the face of adversity.
He and wife Jenny hosted a final farewell drinks for staffers at Kirribilli House on Sunday afternoon after Mr Morrison said he will hand over the reins of the Coalition to a new leader, with former defence minister Peter Dutton the current front runner
‘You’ve given us a great foundation from which we could walk what has been a very difficult walk, I’ve got to tell you, over the last almost four years,’ he said.
‘God calls us. Whether you’re a prime minister, a pastor, running a business, teaching in schools, working in the police force, it doesn’t matter.
‘We’re each called to trust and obey, and that’s the life of faith He calls us to. That’s how we live our faith, each and every day, regardless of what your job is, and to express it through how you do that.’
He even raised a laugh as he reflected on his one-term role as PM, joking: ‘At the last election, we really understood it was for such a time as this.
‘And now we understand, it was for such a time as that!’
He followed up the appearance in church with a farewell post on Instagram, congratulating Mr Albanese on his win and thanking the Australian public.
‘I am now looking forward to returning to the shire, my family and continuing to serve my local community,’ he posted on a picture of him and Jenny.
‘For me life has always been about faith, family, friends and community. We are not our jobs but who we are as unique individuals, (in my view), loved by God.
‘Jenny and I thank Australia for the honour to have served. I thank my family, friends and colleagues for all their support, especially my dearest friend Josh Frydenberg.’