Former opposition whip Michael Johnson told ABC1′s Lateline he is urging his colleagues to support Mr Abbott, who he says best represents the views of the electorate on emissions trading.

Previously he had said the Liberal Party needed Mr Hockey as leader, but he has changed his mind.

“Tony Abbott’s got a very strong position which happens to coincide with my own view, and in my assessment, my electorate,” he said.

I smell a Labor win in the leafy Brisbane electorate of Ryan. From what I’ve seen of this electorate, it is not remotely Abbottesque.

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I’ve been aware of the prick for nearly 40 years, from back when he was a Liberal apparatchik. He’s always been a nasty piece of work.

Unless Malcolm wins on Tuesday and brings out the long knives, somehow managing to get Minchin disendorsed before next August… please, God, let it be that.

Senators are selected by State party branches.

Sadly, he doesn’t have an electorate (not like Reps members such as Messrs Turnbull, Abbott, Rudd, Swan, Tuckey, Hockey or Ms Gillard, Bishop….)

Or, more accurately his electorate is a whole State. If there’s a double dissolution, he’d need pre-selection, etc. to run again as a Liberal. I doubt that Mr Hockey could have him dumped, tempting though it may be.

I doubt that the Minchiniks will break away from the Bolshie Libs, Brendon. Too much at stake. They’ll stay in and fight…. an unedifying spectacle will ensue, IMO.

Two more truckloads of popcorn to Armidale, please.

One would reasonably expect the liberal party to pay the wages of the likes of minchin given his denial of the fact that he is a public servant.

Let us hope that his electorate now take a closer look at their representative. They may well decide that perhaps they would prefer someone who was prepared to look after them,rather than use his tax-payer funded job in the total and whole employ of the liberal party.

How can Nick Minchin stand up and say well thats cleared the air, when if anything, its made it worse for him and what he wants.

If Turnbull or Hockey win, Minchin has only one option: leave the party and start up an even more right wing party dedicated to uncovering left wing conspiracies and the return of the cat o`-nine-tails back into labour relations.

Hockey may still get up, but the Minchinites have been chucked in the bin where they belong.

But seriously, ‘the guff’ sells newspapers and so it descended like a greater heap during ‘grech-gate’ and accelerated as Copenhagen got closer… if this was not ‘guff’ then I shudder: truly, it can’t get worse can it?!!?