“Weak and treacherous”: Malcolm Turnbull’s scathing text to Mathias Cormann
<div class="post_body_wrapper">
<div class="post_body">
<div class="body_text ">
<p>Ex-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has blasted his former political ally Mathias Cormann as “weak and treacherous” for his role in the Liberal leadership spill that saw Turnbull losing his job as Prime Minister.</p>
<p>Despite Turnbull being told that the party room had abandoned him, the numbers later showed that if Cormann had stood firm, Turnbull would have survived the leadership spill.</p>
<p>Text messages have emerged between the two after the leadership vote in August 2018 which resulted in Scott Morrison taking as leader of the party and the top job of Prime Minister after<span> </span>The Australian’s<span> </span>Media Diary got their hands on the messages.</p>
<p>“I was not part of any planned conspiracy or insurgency. I genuinely backed you until events developed, sadly, which in my judgment made our position irretrievable. I immediately and honestly advised you directly,” Mr Cormann wrote to Mr Turnbull.</p>
<p>“I was genuinely blindsided by the leadership ballot on the Tuesday and events developed rapidly from there.</p>
<p>“All this has been very painful – yes I know first and foremost for you and for that I’m very sorry. But also for me. My wife was genuinely traumatised by it all.”</p>
<p>Turnbull, having just lost his job and feeling betrayed by a close friend, was not in a forgiving mood.</p>
<p>“Mathias, at a time when strength and loyalty were called for, you were weak and treacherous. You should be ashamed of yourself, and I well understand how disappointed your wife is in your conduct,” he shot back.</p>
<p>That text was particularly scathing as Cormann’s wife is a lawyer.</p>
<p><em><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/media-diary-mathias-cormann-first-up-in-malcolm-turnbulls-bad-books/news-story/cd23cc8ae662e7dd0c8a0436a7be3d47" target="_blank">The Australian</a> </em>also quoted an extract from Turnbull’s latest book, which makes it clear that there are still hard feelings.</p>
<p>“Cormann’s treachery was the worst and most hurtful. He’d become a trusted friend of mine,” he writes.</p>
<p>“I’d always trusted Cormann, ignoring constant warnings that he was an untrustworthy, Machiavellian schemer.”</p>
<p>Mr Cormann was asked about Mr Turnbull’s description of him as a “traitor” on ABC radio.</p>
<p>“Look, you know, it’s obviously ancient history. I stand by my actions that week,” he said.</p>
<p>“Malcolm took me by complete surprise when he brought on a surprise leadership ballot on the Tuesday. I wasn’t part of any planned insurgency or planned conspiracy or planned spill that week. Malcolm brought on that leadership ballot, and after he did that, the rest of us had to deal with the consequences.”</p>
<p>“If you hadn’t switched though, he would have had the numbers,” host Fran Kelly said.</p>
<p>“You know what, I completely disagree with you,” Mr Cormann said.</p>
<p>“I happen to believe that Malcolm Turnbull’s position at that time had become irretrievable, he had lost the confidence of the party room, and that if we didn’t resolve the matter properly and with certainty that week, that the position of the government would have become irretrievable.</p>
<p>“It would have been weak if I had run away from dealing with this issue. We dealt with it, and the Australian people at the election clearly endorsed the judgment that we made.”</p>
<p>The former Prime Minister’s autobiography gives him one last chance to air his grievances and is due to be published in April. </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
