EDITORIAL: Taylor finally moves for Liberal leadership but will it make any difference?

It is finally happening.

After all the Liberal Party signalling, sniping and behind-the-scenes back-biting, Angus Taylor is finally making a move for the leadership.

It is easy to argue the pre-positioning and number-crunching which has chewed up so much time — which should have been spent concentrating on tearing into the Government, not each other — amounted to a virtual unofficial challenge.

But it got so bad that it could not go on. The destabilisers had to put up or shut up.

On Wednesday evening he finally mustered the courage to challenge.

“I think Australians generally understand that a strong Australia means a strong Liberal Party,” he said after quitting the frontbench.

“We must have a strong Liberal Party if we’re going to have a strong democracy in this country and we’re going to hold this bad Labor Government to account.

“I don’t believe Sussan Ley is in a position to be able to lead the party, as it needs to be led from here.”

Who knows if this is an end to Coalition chaos?

For a while the Liberals had finally seemed to have been on the cusp of some momentum when they helped to shame Anthony Albanese into calling a royal commission on anti-Semitism after the Bondi massacre.

But that disappeared into the air when the Coalition split over the Government’s responses to Bondi. It is ironic that one of Ms Ley’s potential final acts as Opposition Leader was to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

As the Liberals’ fortunes fell, last month we had the spectacle of Mr Taylor, Canning MP Andrew Hastie and right-faction powerbrokers holding a not-so-secret meeting to thrash out who would have a go at Ms Ley’s job, before Mr Hastie withdrew from the undeclared but obviously happening race.

Mr Hastie then issued a statement acknowledging that he still held leadership ambitions. “But having consulted with colleagues over the past week and respecting their honest feedback to me, it is clear that I do not have the support needed to become leader of the Liberal Party,” the Canning MP said.

“On this basis, I wish to make it clear I will not be contesting the leadership.”

Mr Taylor, who narrowly lost the leadership to Ms Ley after the last Federal election wipeout, continued to circle. All the while the lifeblood continued to drain from the once-proud party and the Coalition. A Newspoll last month had One Nation support at 22 per cent and the Coalition at 21 per cent.

Polling during the split of the Coalition — which is now back together — showed primary support for the Liberals at 15 per cent and the Nationals at three per cent. One Nation was up five points to 27 per cent. Ms Ley’s numbers had her as the most unpopular major party leader since 2003.

Whatever the outcome of the looming Liberal leadership contest the Coalition will still have a mountain to climb. Who knows if this is an end to Coalition chaos?

The fact that it took so long for Mr Taylor to actually launch a challenge indicates he struggled to convince his party room he was worth a shot at the top job. That in itself was hardly a wholehearted endorsement.

And Nationals leader David Littleproud is still on thin ice in his own party room.

Unless the Coalition can prove its infighting is over and it is capable of being an effective Opposition and able to provide a real alternative, it will continue to struggle along as a combined grouping of little consequence.

Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore.