You left me swinging: Joe to Tony
SIMMERING tensions between Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott boiled over in a telephone clash when the shadow treasurer accused the Opposition Leader of embarrassing him and leaving him ''swinging in the wind''.
Several sources from both camps have confirmed to The Sun-Herald a fiery conversation in which both called in to question the other's loyalties and political ideology. One senior Liberal called it a "brutal, free and frank character assessment of each other's beliefs and performance".
The stoush between the former leadership rivals - in the lead-up to the May 10 budget - erupted after Mr Hockey was forced to back away from his suggestion in a keynote speech that family trusts should be taxed in the same way as companies.
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Mr Hockey was immediately slapped down by Nationals leader Warren Truss and members of the conservative Right, who have long opposed any change to family trust tax arrangements due to their popularity with rural heartland voters.
Mr Hockey was forced to make an embarrassing public retreat, but he soon called Mr Abbott, furious at his lack of support. It is understood he was angry that he had been "left swinging in the wind" and he repeatedly made it plain he believed the Coalition needed to have firm policy outlines instead of Mr Abbott's current "small target strategy".
According to the sources, it then descended into a slanging match before ending abruptly without resolution. A shadow cabinet supporter of Mr Hockey's said he was determined to stand by his belief that the Liberal Party "needs to stand for something going into the next election and if that means taking an unpopular stance or having to thrash it out with the Nationals, then so be it".
Mr Abbott's office had no comment while a spokesman from Mr Hockey did not respond. But a Coalition source said the matter had been overblown and claimed a conversation matching "those descriptive terms did not take place".
Former leader Malcolm Turnbull's controversial appearance on the ABC's Lateline last week, just hours after Mr Hockey's largely panned budget reply at the National Press Club, has forced Mr Abbott to hand down an official edict on discipline.
Last Thursday morning, Coalition MPs and senators received an email from chief opposition whip Warren Entsch warning against running commentary on internal party matters. He specifically ordered members not to discuss with media the comments Mr Turnbull made about his alternative views on the Coalition's carbon policy. Mr Turnbull took to his blog on Friday, claiming he did nothing but spruik the party line.
He has received a small measure of support within the party, including a text message from a prolific backbencher while he was on air. But Mr Turnbull has largely been criticised internally for creating a distraction from Labor's carbon tax struggle.
Link -
http://www.smh.com.au/national/you-left-me-swinging-joe-to-tony-20110521-1exys.h...============================
Presenting a UNITED FRONT?
Abbott-a-bad, Hockey, Turnbull, Truss & who else, at each others throats?
This is what some may call an in-elastic approach to policy and an elastic approach to self-interest?
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