Peter Dutton Elected As New Liberal Leader After Running Unopposed
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Peter Dutton has been elected as the new Liberal Party leader after running unopposed.
Sussan Ley has been elected as his deputy. She also ran unopposed.
Dutton, who has previously served as the Defence Minister under Scott Morrison, was previously believed to be vying for the leadership position after Kooyong MP Josh Frydenberg lost his seat in the federal election.
The former Treasurer was tipped as the favourite to take the helm of the Liberals, however Dutton became the frontrunner once the votes were counted after the May 21 ballot.
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison resigned as party leader last week, despite vowing not to only days before the election.
Dutton's new appointment came shortly after he just scraped past his competition in his own seat of Dickson, Queensland.
#BREAKING Peter Dutton has been announced as the new Liberal Leader alongside Deputy Sussan Ley, both elected unopposed. #auspol @6NewsAU
— Roman Mackinnon (@RomanMackinnon6) May 30, 2022
Former-PM Scott Morrison spoke to the press to congratulate Dutton and Ley on their rise to the top.
"They are incredibly experienced, well versed, are are deeply committed Australians to both the Liberal cause and, of course, the nation. I think they’ll do an outstanding job and I look forward to giving them all of my full support," he said as per the Sydney Morning Herald.
Morrison added: "It’s been a great privilege to lead the federal parliamentary Liberal Party and I handed over to Peter and Susan and wish them all the very best."
Dutton is yet to make a statement to the press following his new appointment.
The choice to elect Dutton as leader has recently been called into question by multiple policymakers in Canberra and by people around Australia, including Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan.
"He’s an extremist and I don’t think he fits with modern Australia at all," McGowan said.
“He doesn’t seem to listen, he’s extremely conservative. I actually don’t think he’s that smart."
Dutton’s appointment comes only a few days after Labor MP Tanya Plibersek apologised for comparing the new Liberal leader to Lord Voldermort.
Speaking on 4BC Radio, the senior Labor politician suggested kids could be scared by the former Defence Minister.
"I think there will be a lot of children who have watched a lot of Harry Potter films who will be very frightened of what they are seeing on TV at night, that's for sure," she said.
When asked to clarify what she meant, she added: "I am saying he looks a bit like Voldemort and we will see whether he can do what he promised he would do when he was last running for leader, which is to smile more."
A recent poll also indicated that Dutton is vastly unpopular with the broader Australian public.
