Tony Abbott Lives for Another Day – Now What? « Asia Unbound

To be honest, though, I do not think Abbott will avoid another challenge to his job. A poll taken this week showed Abbott with a record low approval rating from the Australian public, and also revealed that voters would prefer other coalition leaders, like Turnbull or Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, as prime minister. And even though he survived for now, the win was no great triumph. "No matter how it is sliced and diced though, this [party room vote] was a pretty miserable outcome for Abbott," wrote Mark Kenny, a political columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald; a significant percentage of Abbott's backbenchers wanted to get rid of him, even though no other candidate had declared himself or herself for the PM job. And in Australian politics, one challenge, even if defeated, tends to be the equivalent of blood in the water for sharks – commentators and other politicians circle the bloodied leader even more, waiting for another opportunity to pounce.

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2015/02/10/tony-abbott-lives-for-another-day-now-what/