Tony Abbott is set to become the new federal Liberal Party president, returning to an active party role seven years after losing his Sydney seat of Warringah at the 2019 election. Abbott was the only nominee for the unpaid post, and his election to the party’s top administrative role will be confirmed at the Liberal Party’s federal council meeting in Melbourne next weekend.
He will succeed former South Australian premier John Olsen and take charge of a role that oversees the party’s administrative wing and campaigning infrastructure while operating at arm’s length from the parliamentary party. The presidency is usually kept away from the media spotlight, but Abbott’s return is already drawing attention because moderate Liberals fear he could be used as a de-facto leader and push the party further to the right on immigration and other issues.
Abbott did not present the move as a comeback for its own sake. Speaking at the Sydney Writers’ Festival on Friday, he said he wanted to help Angus Taylor become the 32nd prime minister of Australia and believed the best way to do that would be through the presidency if the party chose him. He said he owed everything he had achieved in public life to the Liberal Party and that it was his duty to serve it to the best of his ability if called upon.
The timing adds weight to the decision. Abbott’s elevation would place one of the party’s best-known conservatives back in a formal position of influence just as the Liberals are trying to rebuild after years of internal strain and electoral setbacks. That prospect is one reason moderates are uneasy: they see a figure who remains influential on the right returning to the organisational heart of the party at a moment when Taylor is trying to present a broader appeal.
The immediate question now is not whether Abbott has the votes — he was the sole nominee — but how much freedom he will have to shape the party’s direction once confirmed. The presidency is supposed to be administrative, not political. Abbott has never been much for staying in the background.
His return will be formalised next weekend in Melbourne, but the Liberal Party is already having to reckon with what it means. Abbott is coming back to a role designed to stay out of the spotlight, and it is hard to imagine that, once there, he will remain there for long.
Separately, the Victorian Liberal Party state council will meet in Melbourne on Saturday, where Philip Davis is expected to step down as state president. Former federal director Brian Loughnane is the sole candidate to replace him.
