Senior government figures are standing by Tony Abbott and his chief of staff despite more of his biggest backers questioning the prime minister’s judgment.
The fallout from Abbott’s decision to confer a knighthood on Prince Philip continues three days after the announcement, with conservative News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt labelling it “pathetically stupid”.
One opinion poll shows more than 70 per cent of voters are opposed to the decision.
Bolt, a long-time supporter of Abbott, questioned the prime minister’s judgment and his grip on the top job.
It was “just such a very, very, very stupid decision”, he said, adding it was so damaging it could be fatal.
The conservative columnist’s intervention came after his News Corp global boss Rupert Murdoch urged Peta Credlin to “do her patriotic duty” and resign or be sacked as Abbott’s chief of staff.
A ReachTel Poll, commissioned for Network Seven, found only one in five respondents think Abbott is doing a good job as prime minister while six out of 10 rated his performance as poor.
Seven out of 10 opposed the knighthood decision with just 12 per cent supporting the move.
Finance Minister Matthias Cormann says Abbott has learnt a lesson from his unilateral decision about Prince Phillip, and had given an assurance there would be more consultation in the future.
He backed the prime minister with “strong and unequivocal support”.
“He is the best person to lead the Liberal Party, to lead our country,” Senator Cormann told ABC radio on Thursday.
He’s also standing by Credlin, rejecting criticism she was blocking access to Mr Abbott.
“Not in any way, shape or form,” he said.
Cabinet colleague Sussan Ley responded to the latest polling by using a tennis analogy.
“Sometimes you can make a silly drop shot in the middle of the game and you can win that game and then go on to win the match,” she told reporters during a visit to the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Credlin was a “terrific asset” to the prime minister’s office and the Liberal Party.
Another frontbencher Michaelia Cash dismissed the criticism of Murdoch and Bolt.
“When you’re the prime minister of the country, when you’re the chief of staff to the prime minister, you’ll always have your critics,” she told Sky News.
Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos, a former chief of staff to John Howard, also backed Credlin.
“Peta’s has a hard job. She’s done it as well as she can,” he said.
Abbott’s parliamentary secretary Alan Tudge said Credlin had been an outstanding contributor to the Coalition team.
“I just say to Andrew Bolt and all of the other critics, let’s just keep this decision in perspective,” he said.
– AAP
