Federal election 2025: Liberals mull over scars as path forward remains vague

A string of factors rather than a standout reason is being blamed on Liberal failings as the party recorded its worst election defeat in history.

MPs and insiders were left dismayed at how poorly the party performed after internal numbers set an expectation they would go forward, not backward, losing at least 13 seats and potentially up to 19.

The Liberals were routed across metropolitan areas, with Peter Dutton becoming the first opposition leader to lose his seat.

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, defence spokesman Andrew Hastie and immigration spokesman Dan Tehan are among possible candidates to lead the rebuild.

None have publicly declared a leadership tilt, especially ahead of final seat numbers.

But a blame game has already started.

Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who lost her pre-selection and blames Mr Taylor for his factional dealings, was scathing in her assessment of his role in the defeat.

“I don’t know what he’s been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, no economic narrative,” she told ABC TV.

One Liberal insider noted those coming out of the woodwork to attack Mr Taylor had their own agenda and would try to discredit him to prop up others’ leadership tilts.

While a lack of a coherent economic plan was a common critique within the party, insiders also complained of a presidential-style campaign that involved captain’s calls from Mr Dutton.

Shadow ministers were effectively left in the lurch during the policy decision-making processes, submitting costed policies that were never heard of again, Senator Hughes said.

There was a lot of pre-election work on policies that never saw the light of day while others such as a proposed $1200 tax rebate and a decision not to back Labor’s income tax cuts were made centrally without input from shadow cabinet, a source said.

“People expected their policies to appear at least on the website,” the senior coalition source told AAP.

A short-lived plan to force public servants to work from home also confounded MPs, with instant feedback from the hustings being brutal.

Questions were raised about why the campaign focused so heavily around Mr Dutton if he had popularity problems instead of the wider team being utilised more effectively.

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg called for an end to culture wars “at all costs” and for a focus on economic issues.

NSW Liberal opposition leader Mark Speakman agreed, saying in a thinly-veiled jab at Mr Dutton that he “won’t be focused on issues like how many flags I stand in front of”.

“Young people in the street aren’t talking about that. They want to know what we are doing to get them into homes as renters and buyers,” he said.