Senior Liberal MPs have expressed doubts about the electability of their party following their devastating defeat in the Victorian state election.
Labor Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews enjoyed a relatively easy victory over the Liberals in the state election, with large areas of Melbourneās east swinging in his favour. Shadow Attorney-General John Pesutto, whose job was on the line pending the result, was quoted saying āsomethingās gone horribly wrongā while watching the votes count down in his Hawthorn seat.
He said that āwe shouldnāt be in this positionā and that the party needed a āroot-and-branch reviewā in order to diagnose why the party was rejected so overwhelmingly by voters.
Jane Hume, a Victorian Liberal Senator, said that there was āno doubtā that the ousting of Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister had a significant impact on the result of the election.
She said that the leadership challenge against Mr Turnbull was ādriven clearly by Queenslandā but that there were also āsome Victorians involvedā. She said that it appeared those Victorian Liberals werenāt thinking ahead of the effect such a leadership change might have on a pending state election result.
She added that she did not believe the result was āa reflection on Scott Morrisonā but of the ādisruption that was caused by the loss of Malcolm Turnbullā.
In his concession speech, Victorian Liberal leader Matthew Guy said that ātonight is clearly not our nightā and said that he personally congratulated Premier Andrews on a āstunningā result.