Coalition deal nears as Ley and Littleproud bow to pressure

The Liberal and National parties are nearing a reunification that would avoid a long-lasting and historic rupture after Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud moved to patch things up after weeks of feuding.

After a tense period of countering demands that appeared destined to precipitate a formal split, on Saturday Ley and Littleproud took big steps to reviving the ailing Coalition, according to two Nationals MPs and several Liberal MPs familiar with the talks.

The deal was yet to be officially signed on Saturday night, but Ley told her most senior MPs that it was heading in the right direction and top MPs in both parties said the deal should be announced as early as Sunday, so long as neither side made any unworkable demands late in the piece.

The alliance crumbled in January when three Nationals frontbenchers breached convention to vote against the Liberals on hate crimes legislation addressing antisemitism after the Bondi massacre.

A key sticking point had been a demand from Ley that the three rebels would be suspended from the frontbench for six months should the Coalition be put back together, a proposal Littleproud was against because the Nationals argue the trio did nothing wrong.

However, on Friday morning Littleproud offered a concession, suggesting the three frontbenchers, along with all Nationals, serve a collective six-week suspension before re-entering the frontbench in March. Under this suggested deal, the Coalition agreement would be back in force immediately but the Nationals would only come back into shadow cabinet from March, six weeks after the breach of party discipline that sparked the crisis.

Ley’s allies and moderate Liberals baulked at the latest Nationals request, but Ley was put under pressure by right faction leaders Angus Taylor and James Paterson, plus deputy leader Ted O’Brien and unaligned MPs such as Dan Tehan and James McGrath, who wanted to take the new deal.

Speculation was also rife on Friday and Saturday that Taylor would resign from the frontbench next week to create a leadership spill should Ley cement the split and announce a Liberal-only frontbench on Sunday, which she had been tipped to do.

Ley then frustrated moderate allies on Saturday by pushing for a deal with Littleproud, even after a Liberal suggestion for a suspension until April was rejected by the Nationals. In a Saturday evening call with her most senior MPs, Ley said final details were being ironed out but a deal was getting closer.

One Nationals MP speaking on the condition of anonymity to criticise their leader claimed Ley had “quite obviously capitulated” to Littleproud in order to announce a new Coalition agreement before the upcoming parliamentary sitting

Countering that criticism, another Liberal said Littleproud had climbed down from his previous stance of accepting no fault and no penalty. “Both win a little and both lose a little,” the MP said.

Either way, the reunification, which could be announced as early as Sunday if final details can be ironed out, reflects just how much pressure both Ley and Littleproud were under to re-form the Coalition. The pair have an antagonistic relationship and have been urged by colleagues and party elders such as John Howard to put their egos aside to avoid a split that would benefit Labor and lead to electoral damage.

“For different reasons, [Ley and Littleproud] read the writing on the wall and realised they needed to save this thing for the good of the Coalition and for their own leadership,” one Liberal MP added.

Both leaders will probably face questions from Labor and the media about how they could work cohesively after each expressed such strong displeasure about the other party in recent weeks.

Littleproud declared about three weeks ago that no Nationals could serve in a shadow cabinet with Ley.

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