Liberal strategist and pollster Brad Stansfield has accused Premier Jeremy Rockliff of pulling a “cheap stunt” by making Health Minister Bridget Archer the state’s acting premier ahead of Treasurer Eric Abetz.
He made the comments on the Poll Position podcast he co-hosts with Alex Johnston, as the first week back in parliament after winter recess comes to a close.
Stansfield said the appointment was deliberate positioning by the premier on who should eventually replace him.
“I thought it was a bit of a cheap stunt, to be frank,” he said.
“It wasn’t just done for a matter of convenience. It was done to make a political point.”
Archer stood in as acting premier for a week in July while Rockliff was on a trade mission to Japan. Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who would normally take over, was on a long-standing overseas holiday.
Rockliff said at the time the appointment reflected the “strength and capability” of his team.
Stansfield said the decision broke with the usual order of succession, which runs from the premier to the deputy premier and attorney-general and then to the treasurer.
“So obviously doing that … is going to cause needless internal tensions,” he said.
He claimed the Treasurer would win a leadership ballot if one were held now.
“If the premier left tomorrow, I think [Eric Abetz] would have the numbers to become Liberal leader and premier,” he said.
The Liberals govern in minority and depend on a largely progressive crossbench to stay in office.
A shift to the right under Abetz would test the goodwill of the Greens and independents such as David O’Byrne, whose support keeps the government in power.
Archer, who crossed the floor 28 times as a federal MP, is a moderate in the Rockliff mould and a less confronting option for that crossbench.
The comments come a week after Stansfield lost Liberal Senate preselection to Chris Gatenby and Sarah Courtney.
Stansfield said the loss had not softened his views.
“I’m not inside the tent, but I’m not going to stop saying the same things about what we need to do to fix that,” he said.
Johnston pushed back, saying a conservative turn would suit Labor, which has struggled for years against moderate Liberal leaders who avoided culture wars.
“I’m not saying that [Abetz] would necessarily reignite those culture wars,” he said.
“I think he’s been very disciplined in state politics to be a different sort of politician than he was federally.”
Stansfield argued an Abetz leadership may be better placed to hold Liberal votes against One Nation.
“The fact that the premier felt the need to pull that stunt with Bridget, I think tells you a fairly important message about where he thinks things are inside the Liberal Party,” he said.
