Former environment minister David Speirs has confirmed he's in the running to become opposition leader, saying the SA Liberal Party needs to apologise for a "very bad" election campaign.
The Liberal party room will meet after Easter to vote on its new leadership team, after its overwhelming defeat in the March election.
Mr Speirs has been touted for weeks as the party's new potential leader, to replace former premier Steven Marshall, but today has finally confirmed his nomination.
"We need to apologise to our members and supporters for losing government after one term," he told ABC Radio Adelaide's David Bevan and Stacey Lee.
Mr Speirs said he believed the pandemic had an impact on the government, but also said it lost votes by cancelling the Adelaide 500 car race and failed to sell the benefits of its planned Riverbank Arena.
The southern suburbs MP held onto his seat of Black with a swing of 6.5 per cent against him, but his neighbouring electorates of Davenport and Gibson were both lost to Labor with swings in the double digits.
Mr Speirs said it showed he could connect with the electorate.
"I'm [public] school educated, I'm a migrant, I'm a boy from Hallett Cove," he said.
"I think I can get out there and connect with the tradies, the workers of South Australia, our frontline workers, our first responders, people that clearly thought we weren't connecting with them."
Speirs wants to leave 'factional baggage' behind
The South Australian Liberal Party has a long history of factional divisions, but Mr Spiers wants to present himself as a "fresh face".
"I'm not factionally aligned, I'm not part of a dynasty of any sort," he said.
"I want to leave behind the factional baggage, the baggage of the dynasties, the wealthy pastoralists that have run this party, the corporate boardrooms."
Mr Speirs did garner controversy last year, when he attended an evangelical Christian church and urged parishioners to join the party.
It sparked a party audit of new membership applications.
He said the issue had been taken out of context.
"I encourage people from all walks of life, all faith, to get involved in politics," he said.
Mr Speirs was also asked about suggestions he had a hot temper, and referenced his Scottish heritage.
He migrated to Australia with his family when he was a teenager.
"There's plenty of examples of me getting frustrated from time to time but I don't think it stopped me from being a good environment minister and having a legacy in that portfolio."
As environment minister, David Speirs lead a push to ban single-use plastics, and open water reservoirs for recreation.
But he attracted criticism for his handling of Murray-Darling issues, particularly an agreement signed with eastern states on environmental flows.
"I'm picking up pieces in the Environment Department of the dud deal that he did on the Murray when he was the environment minister," Environment Minister Susan Close said.
"I'm not sure if I was in the party room I'd be encouraged to vote for someone who was accused of capitulating to the eastern states interests by a royal commission."
Mr Speirs — whose southern suburbs seat includes Hallett Cove, Seacliff, O'Halloran Hill and Sheidow Park — is not the only candidate vying for the leadership role.
Moderate-aligned Josh Teague will throw his hat in the ring, along with south-east MP Nick McBride who last year threatened to quit the party.
But senior Liberal sources have told the ABC Mr Speirs is likely to win the contest.
The Liberals now occupy only 16 of the 47 seats in SA's lower house, and suffered heavy swings against them in the March election.
