Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg leaves door open to One Nation coalition, says party needs to be ‘pragmatic’

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg has left the door open to a coalition between the Liberals and One Nation as the right-wing populist party’s polling starts to sour, stating the Liberals would be “pragmatic” about alliance building.

The opposition housing spokesman was repeatedly pressed on a possible future alliance between the Liberals, Nationals, and One Nation on Monday.

Senator Bragg initially dismissed questions of a preference deal between the Coalition and Pauline Hanson’s party and talk of a three-way coalition as too early to tell before the election.

“Well, we’ll work out if there needs to be a coalition, we’d work it out then,” he told the Today show.

However, pressed later if he was leaving the door open to a deal with One Nation, Senator Bragg said, “Well, we would definitely work out whoever would be interested in being in a coalition with us, if that’s what the numbers were. Of course, we’re not crazy.

“But, I make the point that we won’t be in coalition with all the crooks that Labor are in coalition with now, which is structurally buggering up this economy.”

Senator Bragg continued, stating “all the other parties are no good”.

“They have no real solutions,” he said.

“But, at the end of the day, the most important thing is that we’ve got to get rid of this terrible Communist government.

“So, if the numbers were the numbers, and we had to be in coalition with others, then of course we would be pragmatic. I mean, we have to get rid of these guys.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor had initially appeared open to a potential deal with One Nation at the height of the party’s polling.

Federal Liberal party president Tony Abbott also backed talk of a preference deal.

However, earlier this month, Mr Taylor shut the door once more, warning that One Nation would bring an “eternity of pain” and their economic plan would “send us broke”.

Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson backed the Liberal leader on Monday when grilled about Senator Bragg’s comments.

“Well, I think Angus Taylor’s made the position of the Liberal Party very clear. My assessment is it’s widely supported by colleagues,” he told ABC Radio National.

“We have one coalition partner already, which is the National Party, our traditional coalition partner, and we are not in the market for any other coalition partners if we seek from the Australian people as a mandate to govern in that traditional coalition.”

Senator Paterson said he would be “surprised” if Senator Bragg was advocating for a coalition with One Nation.

“That’s not my understanding of his views,” he said.

“I think he made a sensible point that we’ll work out our preferences in the normal time, in the normal way, closer to the election.”

Support for One Nation has started to slip in the months following Senator Hanson’s National Press Club address in which she lashed paid parental benefits and called for an Australian “monoculture” – a phrase her party has struggled to define.

Senator Hanson has also spent much of the winter break in Europe and the UK, including participating in interviews with convicted criminal and far-right agitator Tommy Robinson and former Conservative prime minister Liz Truss.

A Roy Morgan poll released last week found One Nation’s primary vote had slipped from a high of 31.5 per cent in mid-June to 22.5 per cent between July 13-19.

However, on a two-party preferred vote, Labor only narrowly beat out One Nation 51 to 49 per cent.

Primary support for the Coalition, meanwhile, rose from 17.5 per cent in June to 23 per cent, according to the same poll.