Sussan Ley and David Littleproud on Sunday announced an 11th hour patch up of the federal Coalition that the Liberal leader hopes will hold off an early challenge from Angus Taylor.
But on Sunday night it was doubtful whether re-forming the Coalition would prevent Taylor, the opposition defence spokesman, moving this week, with some sources putting a challenge to Ley’s leadership at 50-50 probability.
Newspoll released Sunday night shows the Coalition parties’ primary vote dropping to 18%, with the Liberals on 15% and the Nationals on 3%, and Ley with a net satisfaction rating of minus 39, a deterioration of 11 points since the previous poll in January. One Nation has surged to 27%, up 5 points over the past three weeks.
